THE VOTERA Publication of The League of Women Voters of Greater Birmingham
Published August 2007
Registered to Vote
in Chile? Vote or Face Fine
During
a recent vacation trip to northern Chile, I asked my American contact
and several Chileans about their rules for voting. According
to
them, Chileans who register to vote and who are within a certain
proximity to their voting place MUST vote in all elections.
To be
registered and not vote is to be subject to a fine equivalent to 200
dollars. If one is not registered at all, then no fine
results.
Our American contact, a missionary who has been in Chile for 10 years, no longer votes in U.S. elections. His explanation was that the Chilean postal system is very problematic (which guidebooks also mention), and he could never get his absentee ballot back in time to meet U.S. deadlines.
-- Leonette Slay
During
a recent vacation trip to northern Chile, I asked my American contact
and several Chileans about their rules for voting. According
to
them, Chileans who register to vote and who are within a certain
proximity to their voting place MUST vote in all elections.
To be
registered and not vote is to be subject to a fine equivalent to 200
dollars. If one is not registered at all, then no fine
results. Our American contact, a missionary who has been in Chile for 10 years, no longer votes in U.S. elections. His explanation was that the Chilean postal system is very problematic (which guidebooks also mention), and he could never get his absentee ballot back in time to meet U.S. deadlines.
-- Leonette Slay
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