2022 will be an Election Year in Brazil, so we wrote this article, in partnership with Equalitas Jr., to remind you about how our electoral system works and what the changes were from the last Electoral Reform that will take effect next year.
Electoral systems and the Brazilian electoral system
An electoral system concerns the rules that determine how the occupants of political positions will be elected in the country, in this sense, it defines the electoral formula used (how the votes will be counted), which voters are eligible to vote, as well as how the electoral campaign should be conducted - according to Jairo Nicolau (2004). In this perspective, such rules allow the transformation of votes into power and stimulate differentiated behaviors of political actors.
In the Brazilian case, the electoral system is established in the Federal Constitution of 1988 in arts. 46 and 77 and regulated by the Electoral Code (Law 4,737/65). This is intended to ensure the exercise of political rights and organize the choice of representatives. In this sense, the proportional and majoritarian systems are used in the choice of representatives who will exercise political positions. The proportional system is used in the election of Federal and State Deputies and City Councilors. In this system, representation is corresponding to the votes received by the party. In the majoritarian system, used in the election for President, Senators, Governors, and Mayors, the candidate who receives the largest number of votes is elected.
Majoritarian System
As mentioned previously, the majoritarian system guarantees the election of those candidates who obtain more votes, with null and blank votes being excluded from the count. In general, these systems tend to create single-party governments, as they over-represent the largest parties.
There are three types of majoritarian system, which differ by the minimum amount of votes required.
- In the simple majority, the elected candidate is the one who receives the most votes, even if it is not the majority of votes. In this case, distortions in representation can occur, given that the elected official does not represent the majority of voters (NICOLAU, 2004).
- In the two-round system, if the candidate does not have the absolute majority of votes in the first round, the most voted candidates will go to a second vote, ensuring that the elected official has a significant vote, which generates greater representation.
- In the alternative vote system through the vote transfer method, the voter lists their candidates in order of preference, so those who have fewer votes will have their votes distributed to the others according to the voter's preference.
The majoritarian systems are used mainly in elections for Executive positions. In the Brazilian case, for the election of the President of the Republic, State Governors, and Mayors of Municipalities with more than 200,000 inhabitants, an absolute majority of votes is required, and if this is not achieved, a second round is held. Senators and Mayors of Municipalities with less than 200,000 inhabitants are elected by the simple/relative majority method.
Proportional System
For the election of City Councilors and Federal and State Deputies, Brazil adopts the open-list proportional electoral system. In the open-list system, the party launches the list of candidates, but does not have the prerogative to define preference among these names. This is because, unlike what happens in majoritarian elections, obtaining the majority of votes is not sufficient for a candidate to be elected by the proportional system. In fact, it is possible for a candidate to secure a seat with fewer votes than more highly voted candidates who failed to get elected. The proportional electoral system aims, in addition to guaranteeing a correspondence between the votes received by the parties and their representation, to make viable and ensure the representation of minority sectors and the diversity of opinions in the parliaments.
To be elected, candidates for proportional positions depend, first of all, on the number of seats in the Legislature that the Party under which they were elected managed to obtain. This number will be proportional to the total number of votes obtained by the party ticket in the election. In a second step, candidates depend on the votes obtained by themselves to be able to occupy one of the vacancies. Put another way, in the proportional system, the number of City Councilors or Deputies elected by each political party depends both on the total number of nominal votes won by its candidates and on the total number of votes obtained by the party ticket in the election. The number of votes obtained by a specific candidate will reflect in a greater number of seats for their party. If the number of votes is high, it will allow the election of other candidates from the party, even if they have received few votes. In this sense, in the proportional system, the more votes the party obtains, the more vacancies it will be able to fill. This, in fact, is one of the reasons why the mandate is attributed to the party and not to the politician.
After the counting of the election votes, the distribution of seats occurs in three stages:
- Definition of the parties that will have the right to occupy the vacancies (electoral quotient);
- Definition of the number of seats that each party will occupy and which candidates will occupy each seat (party quotient);
- Distribution of the remaining seats;.
It is worth mentioning that party coalitions in proportional elections were banned after the promulgation of Constitutional Amendment 97 of 2017, and were no longer valid in the 2020 municipal elections. Since then, parties can no longer form alliances with each other to combine the number of votes achieved and thus increase their chances of winning seats in the Legislature. Candidates for City Councilor, State Deputy, and Federal Deputy can only run for office through a single slate within the party to which they are affiliated.
- In proportional elections, it is possible for the voter to vote only for the party, and not just for the candidate. This is the so-called party ticket vote. Therefore, the voter has four options when voting: blank vote, null vote, vote for the candidate, and vote for the party ticket.
- To have the right to occupy the vacancies within the Legislature and, consequently, to elect a candidate, the parties must obtain a minimum of necessary votes. This minimum is defined by the electoral quotient.
The calculation of the electoral quotient is defined by the total of valid votes (party ticket votes and nominal votes, excluding blanks and nulls) cast in the election for that position, divided by the number of seats in dispute. Only parties that reach the electoral quotient are entitled to a vacancy.
Electoral quotient = Valid votes ÷ Vacancies
- After the selection of parties eligible to elect candidates, the number of seats that each party will occupy is defined, obtained by the party quotient. The party quotient is calculated by the number of valid votes garnered by the party, divided by the electoral quotient. The result of the division corresponds to the number of seats the party ticket will occupy. Within each party, the most voted candidates will be elected until the number of seats obtained is filled.
Party quotient = Party's valid votes ÷ Electoral quotient
It is also highlighted that the candidates must also reach a minimum nominal vote in order to be elected. In addition to winning enough votes to occupy the vacancies assigned to the party - defined by the party quotient - the candidate must obtain a number of votes equal to or greater than 10% of the electoral quotient. This condition is called the barrier clause. If the candidate does not reach this percentage, the vacancy will be redistributed with the other remaining vacancies, as explained in the next section.
- If there are leftover vacancies after the distribution by the party quotient, the division of the remaining seats is made by dividing the number of valid votes obtained by each party by the number of seats won in the first stage, plus the number one. The party that obtains the highest result will occupy the seat in dispute. This division will be repeated until all the remaining vacancies are distributed.
Distribution of leftovers = Party's valid votes ÷ Seats won by the party+1
Electoral reform: Main changes for the 2022 elections
The National Congress promulgated, on September 28, 2021, the electoral reform established by Constitutional Amendment No. 111, which changes the rules for elections in the country. The new rules defined will be applied as of the 2022 elections.
Among the main changes, the new vote counting rule stands out for the distribution among political parties of the resources of the party fund and the Special Campaign Financing Fund (FEFC). In elections held between 2022 and 2030 for the Chamber of Deputies, votes cast for female candidates or black candidates will be counted double. This measure aims to encourage candidacies and expand the spaces of power for these groups. In addition, it aims to prevent the occurrence of fictitious candidacies and "orange candidacies" (fronts).
Furthermore, the approved text maintains the current rule that provides for the loss of mandate in case of disaffiliation from the party, but creates an exception for the maintenance of the mandate when the party through which they were elected agrees with the affiliation to another party ticket. The hypotheses of disaffiliation for just cause already stipulated by law (substantial change or deviation from the party program, serious personal political discrimination, etc.) are maintained.
Finally, it should be noted that the possibility of forming party coalitions in proportional elections had been reintroduced in the proposal sent by the Chamber. This proposal, however, was rejected by the Senate and removed from the final text.
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References
Agência Câmara de Notícias. Electoral reform is approved in the Senate without coalitions in proportional elections: see how it turned out. 2021. Available at: https://www.camara.leg.br/noticias/809368-reforma-eleitoral-e-aprovada-no-senado-sem-as-coligacoes-em-eleicao-proporcional-veja-como-ficou/. Accessed on: 13 Dec. 2021.
Agência Câmara de Notícias. Electoral reform is promulgated: new rules will be applied in the 2022 elections. 2021. Available at: https://www.camara.leg.br/noticias/811023-reforma-eleitoral-e-promulgada-novas-regras-serao-aplicadas-nas-eleicoes-de-2022/. Accessed on: 13 Dec. 2021.
PEREIRA, Rodolfo Viana; GELAPE, Lucas de Oliveira. Anachronism of the open-list proportional system in Brazil: The case of the original reasons for its adoption. Revista de Informação Legislativa, Belo Horizonte, v. 205, n. 52, p. 261-279, Mar. 2015.
NICOLAU, Jairo. Electoral Systems. 5th Ed. Rio de Janeiro: Editora FGV, 2004.
TORRES, Damiana. Brazilian electoral systems. Superior Electoral Court. Available at: https://www.tse.jus.br/o-tse/escola-judiciaria-eleitoral/publicacoes/revistas-da-eje/artigos/revista-eletronica-eje-n.-4-ano-4/sistemas-eleitorais-brasileiros
DOMINGUETI, João Paulo. How the Brazilian Electoral System works. Metapolítica, 2021. Available at: https://www.metapolitica.com.br/2021/09/02/sistema-eleitoral-brasileiro/
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This article was written in partnership with Equalitas UFMG Jr, Junior Consultancy of the Public Management course at the Federal University of Minas Gerais. Learn more about Equalitas by clicking here
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