Elections: Brazilians abroad vote according to local schedule
For this year's elections, the Superior Electoral Court (TSE) standardized the voting period according to Brasília's official time, in all states and the Federal District. The measure, however, does not apply to overseas voting, which will continue to be held from 8 am to 5 pm, according to the local time in each country.
In this case, due to the time zone, elections abroad will start at 8 pm on October 1 (Brasilia time) in Wellington, capital of New Zealand, and will end in cities in the western United States. Inside or outside Brazil, the voting time will be the same: nine hours in total.
Citizens with an electoral domicile outside the country will only be able to vote for President of the Republic. Voting abroad is organized by the Regional Electoral Court of the Federal District (TRE-DF), with the support of the Brazilian consular network in each country.
Electoral sections
The sections are established in places with at least 30 voters and operate, preferably, at embassy headquarters, consular offices or places where there are Brazilian government services. In each election it is necessary to verify where they will be installed.
In 46 locations abroad there will be no elections this year, either because the minimum number of eligible voters has not been reached, because of the closing of the location or, still, because of the geopolitical context. By way of example, the sections of Damascus (Syria) and Kiev (Ukraine), despite having a number above the legal minimum for their operation, will not be installed for the 2022 elections due to the unpredictability of armed conflicts.
Voters in Venezuela, who used to vote in Caracas and Ciudad Guayana, will have to go to Bogotá, capital of Colombia, since Brazil ended diplomatic relations with Venezuela in 2020 and today there are no Brazilian representations in that country. The ballot boxes in the Venezuelan cities were transferred at the request of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. According to the TRE-DF, Bogota was chosen because it is currently the embassy that covers, according to consular jurisdiction, Brazilians residing in Venezuela.
The section established in Auckland (New Zealand) in the 2018 Elections, whose main objective was to expand the availability of voting places for the Brazilian community in the country, will not operate in this year's elections.
In the 160 active overseas polling places, there will be a total of 1,018 electoral sections. Of these, 989 will have electronic voting machines and 29 will have canvas ballot boxes, for the collection of votes on paper ballots. In the sections with 30 to 99 electors, voting will be by paper ballot. For localities with 100 or more electors, the Electoral Justice sends electronic ballot boxes.
Figures and justifications
For the 2022 elections, more than 697 thousand people are eligible to vote in other countries, a figure that represents an increase of 39.21% compared to 2018.
The places that concentrate the largest number of Brazilians enabled to vote are Lisbon (45,273), Miami (20,189) and Boston (37,159). The countries with the highest number of Brazilian voters are the United States, Japan and Portugal, in that order.
Those who are registered to vote in Brazil but reside abroad must justify their absence from the polls through the e-Título application or at the polling stations, on Sunday itself, where there are any.
After the election, the justification may occur in up to 60 days, individually, after each round, through the Justifica system. If, for any reason, one cannot do it electronically, he/she must complete, sign and send a separate form to his/her notary's office in Brazil.
More information can be obtained through the e-mail eletor.exterior@tre-df.jus.br.
