Proposal for a voter education program in Chile

The SP will be implemented by Fundacion Civitas, an independent, non-profit foundation affiliated with the Catholic Church. Chile"s 8,200,000 eligible voters have not been able to vote since 1973. The Government of Chile (GOC), however, is planning to hold a national plebiscite on its candidate for president by 12/88 and congressional elections by 1990. All voting rolls have been purged so all voters must re-register in a cumbersome process, and voter surveys show widespread apathy, skepticism, ignorance, and fear. Against this background, Civitas will hold a series of voter education courses such that it will directly train 60 coordinators who will, over 9 months, train 10,800 volunteer civic leaders. These leaders will, in their turn, conduct programs for some 216,000 potential voters. The courses will be supplemented by a mass media campaign.