Servel to report 3.7 million Chilean voters for missing 2025 elections

Chile's Electoral Service (Servel) will file complaints before local police courts against 3,760,261 voters who failed to participate in the 2025 presidential and parliamentary elections. Servel Director Raúl García confirmed the figure during a presentation to the Congressional Budget Subcommission, stating that the agency is legally mandated to report those who did not vote and failed to provide a valid justification.

The agency is currently in the process of collecting data from electoral rolls to support the legal complaints, a task expected to be completed between October and November.

Under Law 21.779, Chilean citizens who did not vote without a legal excuse face fines ranging from 0.5 to 1.5 UTM, which currently equates to approximately $36,000 to $108,000 CLP. Valid justifications for absence include illness or being more than 200 km away from a polling station. Foreign citizens authorized to vote are exempt from these penalties.