%0 Journal Article %T EL DERECHO Y LA OBLIGACI¨ŽN DE VOTAR %A Marshall Barber¨˘n %A Pablo %J Revista de derecho (Valdivia) %D 2009 %I Scientific Electronic Library Online %R 10.4067/S0718-09502009000100004 %X this article deals with the suffrage system reform being attemted at the present. in the first part the conceptual matter referring to the normative character that the act of voting possesses and must possess is revised, assuming the premise that it is a right and not an obligation. it is concluded that there is no conceptual contradiction in the figure of a right which exercise is mandatory. in the second part, the arguments used to justify the need to reform the suffrage regime are revised, concluding that the principle reasons that should be on the base of this kind of decision have not been explicit. %K right to suffrage %K mandatory suffrage %K constitutional reform. %U http://www.scielo.cl/scielo.php?script=sci_abstract&pid=S0718-09502009000100004&lng=en&nrm=iso&tlng=en