Contrary to what many people think, blank votes and null votes do not interfere with the process of counting a lawsuit or annul an election. Both, according to the Superior Electoral Court (TSE), have no value – they are discarded during the calculation process and considered only as statistics.
The Court emphasizes that, in the Federal Constitution, it is provided that the elected candidate is the one who obtains the majority of valid votes, excluding blank votes and null votes, considered invalid. Therefore, only votes destined for a candidate or a party are counted.
“One of the main myths of the electoral process refers to an alleged interference of blank and null votes in the election result. As they are considered invalid, these votes do not interfere in any way, nor do they benefit any candidates”, informed the TSE.
The court also recalls that the votes for each office are independent. This means that voters can, for example, vote only for President of the Republic and choose to vote blank for the other positions. In this case, the vote for president would be valid even in the face of the other blank votes.
“Many fake news state that, in this same example, the vote for president of this voter would be annulled, as it would be considered a ‘partial vote’. But that simply does not exist”, reinforced the TSE.
According to the Court, even if the majority of voters annuls the vote or votes blank, the election will not be annulled, since only valid votes are considered in the election.
The Constitution, however, provides for the need to schedule a new election if the nullity reaches more than half of the votes in the country as a result of a finding, by the Electoral Court, of fraud in the election – such as, for example, the eventual impeachment of an elected candidate. convicted of vote buying.
Abstention
TSE data show that the abstention or non-attendance of voters at the polls causes financial damage to the country. In the 2010 general elections, the impact was R$ 195.2 million, considered in the first and second rounds. The figure is based on the average cost of voting for Brazil in that year’s election, calculated at R$3.63 per voter.
“Although voting was not mandatory, the Electoral Court is legally designated to prepare elections to meet the needs of all those who can vote,” the court said.
