Of the 948 municipalities, 28 were provincial capitals and only 176 had a population higher than 15,000 inhabitants (10,000 for Sicily).
The deadline for voters to register to vote in the 6–7 May elections was midday on Tuesday 3 April 2012.
For the first time there weren't provincial elections around Italy because they were abolished by the Law n.3660 of 4 December 2011.
All mayoral elections in Italy in cities with a population higher than 15,000 use the same voting system.
This gives a result whereby the winning candidate may be able to claim majority support, although it is not guaranteed.