The algorithm as the interface between law and code: the case of the Italian election of a regional parliament

We discuss the epistemic difference between algorithm and software in a concrete case study of computational law. We report on research and experimentation conducted in partnership with public administration during the electoral process that in November 2025 renewed the members of the regional parliament of one of the largest Italian regions. The partnership included an analysis of the text of the election law from the perspective of algorithmic thinking and the implementation of software to be used to get precise early insights on the election outcomes.We put forward the concept of algorithmic normativity, illustrating how legal language can productively interoperate with digital language through the abstraction level distinctive of the algorithm. We show how the electoral algorithm acts as a ‘boundary object’ that opens up a space for dialogue where legal advisors, administrative agents and ICT experts collaborate to address interpretation gaps and administrative issues, relying on this artefact as a shared comprehension of the electoral procedure. By considering the complexity of coordinating the different public institutions involved in the electoral process, we highlight the intrinsic non-neutral nature of the software, that cannot be thought of in isolation from the socio-technical process in which it is inserted.