President of the Servel informs that this Thursday the government will announce new measures on permits to vote in the plebiscite

Eleven days are left for the constituent plebiscite on October 25 where Chileans will go to the polls to decide whether they want the country to start the process for a new Constitution or not.

This consultation will be one of the last in which the president of the Electoral Service (Servel), Patricio Santamaría, will be in charge of the body, since his term in office is until February 2021. In LT Conversations – a cycle of exclusive dialogues for subscribers of La Tercera- and interviewed by the editor of La Tercera Domingo, María José O’Shea, Santamaría says that “I never imagined that before the end of my period we were going to be at an event like this one, which has not happened nor in Chile or in the world, that a people is asked whether or not they want a new Constitution and also, who should write in the event that the majority wants a new Constitution ”. However, he did not want to advance by which of the two options, if the Approval or Rejection, is the one that he likes the most.

Likewise, the president of the Servel takes the opportunity to clarify a number of doubts that still exist among the people who that October 25 will go to vote. And take advantage of anticipating that tomorrow, Thursday, the government will announce new measures on permits to vote in the plebiscite.

Regarding participation in the election, Santamaría points out that “I prefer to be rather conservative and not anticipate greater expectations regarding participation in the plebiscite.”

Regarding the legitimacy of the process in the event that there is a low number of voters, the president of the Servel board of directors assures that “in general the elections when they are with voluntary vote, the issue of legitimacy goes a bit to the background. the people who feel called, ultimately, to make decisions to elect their representatives or in this case to directly exercise the government of their country, are ultimately those who somehow resolve the issues.

“The issue is worrying, because one would like more people to participate in democracy, but it is also legitimate, from the moment the voluntary vote was established, that those who do not feel called upon should not do so,” he added.

But what will happen on the day of the plebiscite? What if I don’t have a blue paste pencil? At what time will the first counts be? What about Chileans abroad? Will there be transportation on the day of the consultation? Santamaría answers these and other questions:

What is the time to go to vote?

We extend the traditional 10-hour voting hours. You can go to vote from 8:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. It will be 12 hours and we call on people who are interested in being protagonists of the plebiscite, beyond the vote, to attend their premises at 8:00 and offer to be members. The idea is to be able to have the tables set up at 8:00 a.m. and they work until 8:00 p.m., unless there are people waiting to vote at 8:00 p.m., in which case it continues until the last voter votes, not being able to go beyond 24 hours.

What time could we have a result?

At 8:00 p.m. we have set a first delivery of computations that will be the computation of Chileans abroad. 59,522 Chileans in 66 countries will have the possibility to vote in the plebiscite today. An increase of almost 50% over those who voted and were registered in the 2017 election. There has been a lot of interest. Later, around 9:00 p.m. or 9:30 p.m., I think we are going to have some trend-setting results.

What is your concern about the polarized climate in the country and what measures have been taken so that, for example, a mob does not enter a polling station?

We have been working on the entire security issue with the Joint Chiefs of Staff of the Armed Forces, the Ministry of Defense and the different branches of the Armed Forces and Carabineros, because they ensure public order. We have had meetings for quite some time, coordinating, watching. We are going to have a special, without a doubt, concern or occupation so that people can vote in the most calm way possible.

There are going to be two ballots, can you explain that?

They are two ballots that were established in the agreement of November 15. On the one hand, a card that will ask if you want a new Constitution and the two answers: on the left will be Approve, on the right side Rejection. And a second document that asks which body should write this new Constitution, obviously in the event that the approval wins. And there is the constitutional convention on the one hand, which is made up of 155 popularly elected people. And a mixed constitutional convention, which is made up of 86 sitting parliamentarians, elected by themselves and 86 popularly elected people. Those are the options. People can vote on both ballots. The important thing is that they go with the decision already made and do not wait in one of the two secret chambers that each table will have, so as not to delay the voting process.

What is the valid vote cast?

The validly issued is the one that marks a single preference.

And the votes that are annulled?

Those that mark more than some preference. That is a null vote.

What happens if apart from marking a preference I write something in the vote? Is that valid?

That vote is called a ‘marked vote’. It has a treatment. It is considered for the option that is clearly indicated, for example the Approval, and it is recorded that it has a mark and goes in a different envelope, in case the attorney for the other option could object and the Tricel had to make the decision in the time to qualify the election.

Readers’ question: Will there be normal public transportation on the day of the plebiscite?

From what we have spoken with the Minister of Transport, Gloria Hutt, that day you will see 100% public transport, not the transport on Sundays, but both the bus lines and the Metro will work like a weekday.

Readers’ question: Should I request permission or safe conduct to move from a commune in stage 2 to another in stage 3 whose distance is approximately 220 kilometers?

Probably tomorrow, because it is a decision of the Ministry of the Interior and the Ministry of the Interior, tomorrow all the different regulations that will govern the different situations in which we are will be announced. For example, if a person votes within the same commune, they will be able to go out to vote with their identity card, they will not have to ask for permission, but if they later want to go shopping at the supermarket, speaking of a quarantined commune, they will have to ask for permission at the Virtual Police Station. But the act of voting is enough with the identity card. I do not want to anticipate the measures to be announced tomorrow because they are different. If you have to travel from one region to another, more than permission will be requested, the identity card and forms of proving that one, having to change region, is effectively voting in the region indicated. This is going to be simplified, the fundamental thing is the identity card, to be able to accredit, in consultation.servel.cl, the voting commune and in some cases a health passport when it comes to certain regions. There are special cases, such as the Magallanes Region, Aysén and others, which could be in a different situation. It will even simplify the application of quarantines, that is, it will not have to have been in Chile 14 days before to go out to vote, for example, a person who comes from abroad, can do so with a negative PCR.

Should everyone bring their blue paste pencil?

Ideally, everyone should bring their blue paste pencil. Because we did a study, where scientists from the University of Chile were present, who showed us, for example, that not wearing the blue paste pencil, even with the need to sanitize it, a loss of about 28 seconds in calculating the process voting.

If I wear a green or black paste pencil, is the vote worth it?

The idea is to vote with a blue paste pencil. We will lend you a blue paste pencil.

What about the proxies for the two options? How will that work?

In each polling place and before the delegate, there will be a proxy by command or by civil society organization. What we have established, we have reduced the issue of notaries, procedures that can generate bureaucracy. The parties, civil society organizations, independent parliamentarians, will declare a titular and alternate manager before the regional directorates of the Servel and they will be the ones who in turn will appoint a proxy before the voting site and that general proxy will be the ones who will give the powers. The commandos will have to agree, if that does not happen, the first one to appear with his power of attorney at the table will be the proxy for the respective option and if they arrive together they will be drawn with a coin in the air as ruled. There will be four proxies and they will be able to be two meters away from the table during the entire process and with their own sanitary kits.

Readers question: I live in Toronto, today the vote in Montreal was canceled for health reasons. Toronto is in another province and has no cancellation. If the possibility of voting is canceled due to sanitary options, is there an alternative? Is it possible to vote electronically?

It’s not possible. We have been working with the Foreign Ministry and we are monitoring it practically daily, due to what happens in Spain, in Paris, in some different sectors. And in this case, the vote of Chileans abroad will not only be subject to the rules of the sanitary protocol that will be applied in the consulates or places that were determined as voting places, but it will also be necessary to pay attention to the provisions of the authorities of the country. In such a way, that if a quarantine is established and you cannot leave and the consulate is closed, unfortunately you will not be able to vote.