“…Previous research has repeatedly shown that, with the exception of age, socio-demographic factors did not play a significant role in the propensity to vote in Chile (Guzmán et al, 2015; Contreras and Morales, 2015: 16). This has been at least the dominant interpretation in those elections before the 2012 electoral reform, which brought about a change from a non-automatic registration and mandatory vote to an automatic registration and voluntary vote (Mackenna, 2014, 2015). 5 After the reform, some contributions highlighted that the profile of abstentionists changed: due to the higher levels of inequality in Chile, 4 low educated, low social strata and working-class citizens turn out in a lesser extent than those enjoying higher education and belonging to the upper classes (Guzmán et al, 2015).…”