Brazil elections 2022: Distrust grows with vote counting in Brazil

RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – A PoderData survey conducted from May 22 to 24 shows an increase in mistrust regarding vote counting in Brazil.

According to the survey, the proportion of Brazilians who do not trust the electronic ballot boxes rose from 27% in January of this year to 36%.

Those who think the current system is safe are 58%. Four months ago, it was 57%. This variation is within the poll’s margin of error, of two percentage points more or less.

Electronic voting in Brazil began to be implemented in 1996.

The survey was carried out by PoderData, a company of the Poder360 Jornalismo group. The data were collected from May 22 to 24, 2022, employing calls to cell phones and landlines.

There were 3,000 interviews in 301 cities in the 27 states of the Federation. The margin of error is two percentage points. The confidence interval is 95%. The TSE registration is BR-05638/2022.

To reach 3,000 interviews that proportionally fill the groups by sex, age, income, education, and geographical location as they appear in society, PoderData makes tens of thousands of phone calls. Often, it takes more than 100,000 calls until it finds the interviewees who faithfully represent the entire population.

MOST CRITICAL BOLSONARISTS

For 65% of those who approve of President Jair Bolsonaro’s (Liberal Party – PL) government, the vote count in Brazil is not safe. In the group that disapproves of the federal administration, 78% say they believe in the system’s security.

Bolsonaro has already defended the adoption of printed vouchers in voting. In April, he said the proposal was no longer necessary but called for implementing other oversight mechanisms, such as a parallel vote count to be carried out by the Armed Forces.

Without naming the head of the Executive, the president of the Superior Electoral Court (TSE), Minister Edson Fachin, said that the return of the printed vote in the elections does not interest “anyone” and that the adoption of the electronic ballot box allowed the overcoming of “concerns”.

Younger people (70%) and residents of the North region (64%) have the most confidence in the vote count. The residents of the Midwest (43%) and the wealthiest (46%) are those who distrust the system the most.

With information from Poder360