Brazil: public transportation free during second round of elections

Brazil's Federal Supreme Court Justice Luís Roberto Barroso decided on Tuesday (Oct 18) that municipalities and bus companies may offer free public transportation during the second round of elections, to be held on October 30.

According to the magistrate's decision, mayors who adopt this measure will not be liable for administrative misconduct or electoral crime.

The decision was made after a lawsuit filed by the Sustainability Network party. At the party's request, in the first round, the magistrate also determined that public transportation should be maintained at normal levels, and that the municipalities that already offered free transportation in previous elections should maintain the measure.

To justify the request for universal free fare, the party argued that voting is mandatory in Brazil, but many voters cannot afford to pay the fare to polling places, then in many cases, it is more expensive than the fine for non-attendance, whose maximum value is BRL 3.51. The measure also aims to avoid high abstention of voters on voting day.