Chart: A Deep Dive into Voter Turnout in Latin America

“We wanted people to go to the polls riled up.” Just days after Colombian voters narrowly rejected a government peace deal with FARC guerrillas, this frank admission from the “No” campaign manager caused an uproar. The strategy worked: turnout in departments that voted against the deal was 10 points higher than it was in departments that voted for it.

Turnout counts. And in a year where Latin American voters are weary and wary of the political establishment and increasingly anxious over matters like social issues, how many people turn up to vote could prove to be a deciding factor in this year’s presidential elections.

AS/COA takes a look at patterns of turnout over the years in these countries, along with Chile, which elected its new president in December 2017.

This chart was originally published February 15 and has been updated as elections data become available.