Voters Deciding on Recall Referendum

Venezuelans began a three-day process to determine whether President Hugo Chavez should face a recall vote.

With 45,000 soldiers deployed to provide security, thousands of Venezuelans visited 2,500 polling stations to add, confirm or withdraw signatures from a recall petition delivered by Chavez’s opposition in December.

The petition requires 2.4 million signatures -- or 20% of the voter rolls -- to force a referendum on Chavez’s rule.

Activists say they delivered 3.4 million signatures in December, but elections officials validated only 1.9 million and said voters would have to confirm others.