The referendum date was announced in April 2017 by President of Veneto Luca Zaia[4][5] after decades of debates and efforts by supporters of Venetian nationalism, which rose to prominence in the 1980s–1990s.

Both in 1992 and 2000, the Constitutional Court had rejected proposals for similar referendums brought forward by the Regional Council of Veneto.

[8][9] Lombardy, Italy's most populous region neighbouring to Veneto on the east, held a similar referendum on 22 October.

The LN had always been a strong proponent of federal reform, but these referendums were supported also by the Five Star Movement,[3] Forza Italia and more moderately the Democratic Party.

The Economist newspaper, which bet on the "yes" camp to prevail, also predicted that due to the perceived "anti-southern skew" of the vote the "national ambitions" of Matteo Salvini, LN federal secretary, would be negatively impacted by a resounding "yes" victory while Zaia could become the "future leader of the party".