[ad_1]
It is a myth to state that if the majority of voters is void, the election is canceled and a new trial must be instituted. Doubts about the void vote however appear and are repeated every two years in Brazil, during the electoral period.
Even if the majority votes nil, the election is not canceled because, in calculating the result, the Electoral Tribunal considers only the valid votes, ie the nominal votes and the votes cast. votes from the legend. Nil votes – such as blank votes and abstentions – are not considered valid votes and are therefore simply rejected.
Zero and white vote: understanding the difference
In the 2016 elections at the Sao Paulo City Hall, for example, the total of white and white votes and abstentions reached 3,096,304, surpbading the 3,085,187 votes received by candidate João Doria (PSDB) , elected in the first round.
The tucano was elected because the result only considers valid votes, of which he captured 53.2%. Mayor Fernando Haddad (PT), second, received 16.7% of the valid votes and was not re-elected.
The same thing happened that year in the capitals of Belo Horizonte and Porto Alegre and, for the 2018 elections, the scenario is no longer encouraging.
Where does the myth come from?
The origin of the myth about null votes is probably a misinterpretation of Article 224 of the Electoral Code (Law 4 737/1965).
The article says: "If the nullity reaches more than half of the country's votes in presidential elections, the state in federal and state elections or municipal elections in municipal elections, the other votes will be jeopardized and the court will mark day-to-day election within 20 to 40 days. "
The confusion lies in the use of the word "nullity", which does not refer to invalid votes, but to valid votes that can be annulled by court order – if fraud is detected, for example.
The explanation comes from the TSE, which campaigned in 2017 the Electoral Myths campaign.
[ad_2]
Source link
