Since this is the first time that the great majority of male adults have had the opportunity of exercising the franchise, the recent Italian elections constitute an event of considerable significance, and were watched with much interest in Europe.

According to the new electoral law of 1912–13, practically all adult male Italians were given the right to vote at Parliamentary elections. More specifically, this right of suffrage may now be exercised by three classes of citizens: (1) all literate male Italians who are twenty-one years old; (2) illiterates who have reached the age of thirty; (3) all who have served in the Italian army or navy, even though they have not attained the age of twenty-one. Thus the number of possible voters has been increased from less than 3,500,000 to more than 8,500,000—an addition of over 5,000,000 illiterates.