With the aim of increasing the channels of information for the electorate, the week before the Constitutional Plebiscite, the Electoral Service, Servel, will send SMS messages to mobile phones in the country. In addition, the consultation of the data through the Internet will not consume data from the cell phone customers’ plans. This initiative, free for both Servel and users, is generated thanks to the collaboration of ChileTelcos, an association that brings together the largest telecommunications companies in the country.
It should be noted that the message will reach all mobile phone owners, without distinction between those who are voters and those who are not (people who are not yet of legal age, foreigners who do not have residence, or who have their right to vote suspended, among others). The message does not imply that they are qualified to vote, it only calls for a review of the data.
To avoid doubts from the electorate, the message will be very simple, with a clear link and the telephone number for those who prefer to consult that way:
The President of Servel, Andrés Tagle, thanked ChileTelcos for its collaboration and pointed out that “more than 13 million polling station and polling place inquiries have already been made. There are 13 million unique RUTs, about 86% of the register, which already knows where to go to vote”. Tagle added that the sending of SMS, which will be carried out massively starting Monday, August 29, aims to reach those who have not yet consulted, also reminding them that voting is mandatory on this occasion.
The consultation of the data through the internet will not consume data from the cell phone customers’ plans. “We want to contribute to the development of this process, unprecedented in the country, and make it easier for people to know quickly through their cell phones where they should vote,” explained Alfie Ulloa, executive president of ChileTelcos. Sending the SMS will not cost Servel either, added Ulloa.
It is important to remember that the consultation of electoral data is done only by entering the RUT, it does not require a unique password, passwords or personal data. The Servel does not send codes or requires payments to deliver the information.
The companies participating in this initiative, coordinated through ChileTelcos, the association that brings together the main mobile phone companies in the country, are Claro, Entel, GTD, Movistar, Mundo, Telsur and VTR.
