The president of the Superior Electoral Court (TSE), minister Cármen Lúcia, defended this Monday (9) the increase in the participation of voters over 70 years of age in the 2026 elections. In this age group, voting is optional.
The minister presented, earlier this evening, the final evaluation report for the October municipal elections. The document reveals the main causes of the increase in abstention in the second round of this year’s election, which stood at 29.26% of the electorate.
Cármen Lúcia stated that there was a turnout of less than 50% of the electorate over the age of 70 and defended campaigns to increase the effective participation of elderly people.
“This sheds light on the prejudices we have in Brazil, such as ageism, in which people over 70 are not invited to vote diligently, as we do with young voters. We have testimonials from voters who arrive to vote , despite our campaigns to provide accessibility measures, and are treated badly in queues”, he stated.
The president of the TSE said that the changes made to the celebrations of Public Servants’ Day (October 28) may also have contributed to the increase in abstention, in addition to making it easier for voters to justify themselves using the e-Título application.
“For political reasons, which can, and do, interfere with the outcome of the elections, this is up to each municipality to resolve when it will become more flexible. If it wants to be emptied, it will be moved to Monday or Friday on that weekend that will have the election. This is done to ensure that the person who goes to the mountains or the beach does not come back to vote”, he added.
Diploma
Candidates elected in the October municipal election must be certified by the regional electoral courts (TREs) by the 19th of this month. Inauguration ceremonies are scheduled for January 1, 2025.
