Italy's electoral referendum fails to reach quorum

A referendum that would have changed Italy's electoral law by giving more power to large political parties has failed to reach the necessary quorum.

The Interior Ministry said Monday that only 21 percent of eligible voters had cast ballots over two days. In Italy 50 percent plus one must turn out for a referendum to be valid.

In Italy, a country with many political parties, few rarely win 50 percent of the vote or more in a national election.

For that reason, parties often band together in coalitions, and the winning one receives a majority premium to control about 55 percent of seats in …