FEBRUARY 15 TERM LIMITS REFERENDUM: BY THE NUMBERS

UNCLAS CARACAS 000183 SENSITIVE SIPDIS DEPARTMENT PASS TO AID/OTI (RPORTER) HQSOUTHCOM ALSO FOR POLAD E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: PGOV KDEM VE SUBJECT: FEBRUARY 15 TERM LIMITS REFERENDUM: BY THE NUMBERS (SBU) The following statistics provide background information regarding Venezuela's February 15 referendum on eliminating term limits for all elected positions: -------------- ELECTION DAY -------------- Polls Open: 6:00am (5:30am EST) Polls Close: 18:00pm (17:30pm EST) Polling Places: 11,297 Electronic Voting Machines: 34,541 Digital Fingerprint Scanning Machines: 11,422 States that will Deploy Digital Fingerprint Scanning Machines: 8 Polling Places that will be Equipped with Digital Fingerprint Scanning Machines: 3,658 Poll Workers Required on Election Day: 101,397 Eligible Voters: 16,767,511 Registered Voters Living Abroad Eligible to Vote: 57,368 Number of Voters in Washington, DC: 1464 Number of Voters in Miami: 15,846 Number of Voters in Houston: 2195 Number of Voters in New York: 2116 Number of Voters in Havana: 1464 Number of Voters in Puerto Rico: 874 Current Presidential Term Limit: 2 terms Presidential Term: 6 years Current National Assembly Term Limit: 3 terms National Assembly Term: 5 years Gubernatorial Term Limit: 2 terms Gubernatorial Term: 4 years Mayoral Term Limit: 2 terms Mayoral Term: 4 years Days Before Elections in Which Polls May Not be Made Public: 7 Hours Before Elections in Which Alcohol May Not be Sold: 40 Members of the Armed Forces Working on Election Day: 140,000 Estimated Voting Time Per Voter: 20 seconds Allowed Time Per Vote: 3 minutes Months Since Nationwide State and Local Elections: 3 Months Until Nationwide Municipal Council Elections: 6 -------------- PREVIOUS ELECTIONS -------------- Pro-Government Governors Elected in 2008: 17 Opposition Governors Elected in 2008: 5 Percent of "No" Votes in 2007 Constitutional Reform Referendum: 51% Percent of Votes Chavez Won in 2006 Presidential Race: 62% Percent of Votes Chavez Won in 2004 Recall Referendum: 59% Rate of Abstention in 2008 State and Local Elections: 35% Rate of Abstention in 2007 Constitutional Reform Referendum: 44% Rate of Abstention in 2006 Presidential Race: 25% Rate of Abstention in 2005 Parliamentary Elections (boycotted by Opposition): 75% -------------- ELECTION MONITORING -------------- Political Organizations Registered with "Yes" Campaign: 16 Political Organizations Registered with the "No" Campaign: 34 Voting Machines Audited In Presence of "Yes" and "No" Campaign witnesses: 200 Percentage of Voting Machines Audited on Election Day: 54.3% CNE Invited National Election Observers: 1200 International Election Observer Missions: 0 Venezuelan Civil Society Groups Accredited to Observe Elections: 4 Estimated Percentage of Voting Tables "No" Poll Watchers Will Cover: 90% Embassy Personnel Involved in Informal Election Observation: 33 CAULFIELD