The three-day trip to the polling station

ON OCTOBER 7th millions of Venezuelan voters will head to polling stations to cast their ballot in a presidential election, which pits Hugo Chávez, the radical leftist incumbent, against Henrique Capriles of the opposition Democratic Unity (MUD) coalition. For several thousand of them, that will mean a round trip of some 1,726 miles (2,760km). The reason is that Venezuela’s electoral authority, known as the CNE, is requiring people registered in Miami—whose consulate was the largest single voting centre inside or outside Venezuela—to exercise their democratic rights in New Orleans, a 20-hour bus ride away.

In the past, all Venezuelans living in the south-eastern United States had voted at the Miami consulate. But in January America’s State Department expelled its consul, and the Venezuelan government closed the office. That left New Orleans as the nearest alternative. For most potential voters, the time, effort and expense involved in making the journey mean that they will have little option but to abstain.

Venezuelans in Miami have repeatedly asked the CNE to let them vote at another location in the city. The board has responded that this would be impractical, since the electoral authority had no personnel stationed overseas. In New Orleans, however, the voting will take place in a convention centre, and the necessary personnel will be flown in from Caracas—all of which could have been done in Miami as well.

Any reduction in turnout from the 20,000 voters registered with the Miami consulate would surely benefit Mr Chávez, who is reviled by expatriate Venezuelans. In the most recent presidential election, a whopping 98% of the votes in Miami went for the opposition. MUD leaders in Miami say the coalition hoped to garner around 15,000 votes in the district. Almost 9,500 people voted there in the opposition’s primary in February. The one CNE board member sympathetic to the opposition, Vicente Díaz, said on Twitter that the move was a deliberate attempt to “undermine the morale of a political faction”.

The Venezuelan community in Florida is not accepting its disenfranchisement meekly. Activists are soliciting donations and chartering planes, buses and vans to make the trip to Louisiana. One organisation says it has already raised over $180,000.

Another group of voters plans to seek relief in the Venezuelan courts. The country’s anti-corruption law levies jail terms of one to three years for government employees who use their position to favour a particular political party. Members of the opposition say they have no illusions that the Venezuelan justice system will provide redress while Mr Chávez is in power. But are pursuing the case in the hope that judicial independence will be restored if he loses. In the meantime, they are preparing for a very long weekend.

via Americas view http://www.economist.com/blogs/americasview/2012/09/venezuela%E2%80%99s-presidential-election?fsrc=gn_ep