RICO’s Q — With the national election only days away, a question is popping up everywhere—from social media to coffee shop chats and office break rooms: what really happens if you don’t vote?
The conversation started because a television news channel highlighted Chile’s 2025 presidential elections, where voting is compulsory, where, if citizens skip voting, they face fines ranging from about 34,000 to 102,000 Chilean pesos—roughly $40 to $120 in US dollars.
In Costa Rica, voting is also compulsory for all citizens over 18. It isn’t just something you’re encouraged to do—it’s required by law. The Supreme Electoral Tribunal (TSE) keeps a record of who shows up at the polls and who doesn’t. However, Costa Rica doesn’t sanction those who skip the vote.
The TSE treats voting as both a right and a voluntary act.
Back before 1953, Costa Rica had penalties or not voting—things like trouble cashing checks or getting notarial acts done—but those rules were scrapped with electoral reforms that year. Since then, a few bills have been presented in the Legislative Assembly, suggesting fines as high as a million colones for skipping the vote. But none have passed.
What is sanctioned, however, is employers blocking their workers from voting by refusing time off. If that happens, the employer faces financial penalties.
This system of compulsory voting, albeit a voluntary act, highlights Costa Rica’s dedication to keeping democracy alive and kicking.
Just yesterday, I asked Jorge, who often stops by my pizza shop, what he thought about fining people who don’t vote. “I have the right to vote, which means I also have the right not to,” he said. The two younger guys at his table agreed with him. A woman with them, from Guatemala, sat quietly.
The debates over whether such fines would be fair or constitutional include critics who say fines can hit lower-income folks harder, especially those who struggle with transportation or work schedules. But others argue that a fine is a small price to pay to keep voter turnout high—something Costa Rica manages better than many countries in the region.
The debate over compulsory voting and penalties isn’t just a Costa Rican thing. Around the world, countries wrestle with how to get people involved in elections without stepping on personal freedoms.
For many here, voting is more than a legal duty—it’s a tradition they take pride in, a way to keep democracy strong.
With election day just around the corner, the message is clear: every vote counts—and sitting it out isn’t “pura vida”.
This election, I’m planning to vote—not out of obligation, but because I want to shape what happens next. I haven’t settled on a candidate yet, but like many I’ve been talking with, one thing’s obvious: we’re done with “Chavismo” in Costa Rica.
It’s also my wife’s first time voting since she became a citizen. She never voted back in Nicaragua, and with the recent crackdown there wiping out dual nationality (Nicaragua, eliminating dual nationality), this feels like a powerful moment for her—a chance to make her voice heard in a democracy.
I encourage everyone, locals and naturalized citizens alike, to get out and vote this Sunday.
Every single vote matters.