What happens if I cannot attend as a voting jury in the Colombian presidential elections? How much is the fine?

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(CNN Spanish) --

More than 690,000 people have been chosen by the Colombian Registry to be voting jurors in the presidential elections of May 29, 2022, in which more than 39 million Colombians are called to vote.

On May 29, the elections for the president and vice president of Colombia will be held, and for this the Registry will select some 727,000 voting jurors, whose function is to deliver the electoral cards to the voters on the day of the elections so that they can cast their votes and then make the precount.

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The jurors must verify the identity of the voters, make the general registry, deliver the ballots where the vote will be marked and authorize the voters to introduce the votes in the ballot boxes, according to the Registrar's Office.

The raffle is carried out by the Registry through a program in which data on citizens nominated by public and private companies, educational centers, and political parties and movements are found.

The Registrar's Office "does not update or manipulate the lists of citizens sent by companies to be drawn as voting jurors," it says on its website.

Nor can you move the place where you should have been assigned, even if it is far from your place of residence, and you must attend even if you have not received any notification, says the Registry.

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• How do I know if I am a voting jury for the elections for the Congress of the Republic of Colombia in 2022?

Is it mandatory to be a voting jury in the elections in Colombia?

Yes, it is mandatory.

According to article 105 of the Electoral Code of Colombia, the position of voting jury is "forced acceptance".

If you don't receive notification that you've been selected as a jury voter, that doesn't mean you can already be exonerated from your position.

As the same article 105 says, the mere publication or fixation of the lists of voting juries is enough for the task to be of forced acceptance.

So it's best to make sure if you're a jury voter, either on the website (as explained above) or in designated public places.

Is there a fine if I cannot attend as a voting jury?

If you don't attend your general voting jury training and functions, you could be fined.

The issue of the fine "is regulated in Law 163 of 1994," the National Registry confirmed to CNN.

This law mentions, in its article 5, that "persons who, without just cause, do not attend or abandon the functions of the voting jury" will be subject to the following sanctions:

Removal from office if it is a public servant

Or a fine of up to 10 current legal monthly minimum wages;

that is, 10,000,000 Colombian pesos or about US$2,500.

Likewise, if the voting jurors do not sign the scrutiny records, "a fine equivalent to ten current legal monthly minimum wages will be imposed," says article 5 of Law 163.

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What are the grounds to exonerate you from sanctions?

In accordance with article 108 of the Electoral Code, if you do not attend your duties as a voting jury, you can be exempt from sanctions in the following cases:

• "Serious illness of the jury or of their spouse, father, mother or child"

• "Death of any of the persons listed above, occurring on the day of the elections or within the three days prior to them"

• "Not be a resident in the place where he was appointed" to be a jury

• "Be under 18"

• "Have registered and vote in another municipality"

"The serious illness can only be accredited with the presentation of a medical certificate, issued under the seriousness of the oath; the death of the relative, with the death certificate; the age, with the presentation of the identity document; the non-residence, with the certification of neighborhood issued by the mayor or competent authority of the place where one resides; and the registration and vote, with the respective voting certificate", explains article 108.

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