Aging electorate drives campaigns, but turnout remains a hurdle

Of the more than 158 million Brazilians eligible to vote in October, 23 percent are over 60 and make up the largest elderly electorate ever recorded in the country.

According to data from the Superior Electoral Court, the number of older adults with active voter registration has grown by about 74 percent since 2010. Today, they number more than 36.8 million people.

In the view of Dr. Mayra Goulart, PhD in Political Science from the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro (UFRJ), these figures make this group a decisive segment for any nationally competitive candidacy.

“The aging of the electorate tends to increase the importance of issues such as public health, access to medications, social security, social work, safety, mobility, long-term care, and the cost of living,” said the specialist, who is the Coordinator of the Laboratory of Parties, Elections, and Comparative Politics at UFRJ.

“These are issues that directly affect the elderly population, but they also impact their families, especially those responsible for caring for older relatives,” she added.

The political scientist believes that age may be linked to more conservative positions on certain moral or behavioral issues, but that does not mean that older voters necessarily vote more for candidates from a particular political spectrum.

“There is greater concern about public policy, social protection, social security, health care, and income stability. These are voters who have more direct experience with [the SUS, Brazil’s national public health care network], retirement benefits, pensions, medications, and other government services,” which, according to Dr. Goulart, does not eliminate internal differences in income, religion, education, gender, and region.

Women’s participation

For voters over the age of 70 – whose right to vote on a voluntary basis has been guaranteed by law since the promulgation of the 1988 constitution – there is no need to justify their absence, nor is there any penalty for not voting.

In Rio’s Laranjeiras neighborhood, Antonieta da Silva Campos feels strongly about exercising her right to vote. At 96 years old, she still remembers her first election, when she helped elect President Getúlio Vargas in the 1950s.

When it comes to choosing a candidate, she says she likes to do her research.

“I look at what they’ve done and what their track record has been like. A candidate’s honesty is the most important thing; we want people of integrity in every position,” she said.

The number of older adults at the polls has been gradually increasing in recent elections, and Dr. Goulart highlights women’s participation in this process of change.

According to the 2022 census, women account for 54 percent of people aged 60 to 69, 57.8 percent of those aged 70 and older, 61.7 percent of people aged 80 and older, and 67.4 percent of those aged 90 and older.

“Discussing the elderly electorate also means considering issues related to the life trajectories of women, who live longer, often have lower incomes, but are frequently responsible for family care networks.”

Voter abstention

As it stands today, Brazil has approximately 16 million seniors over the age of 70, accounting for 10.6 percent of all eligible voters. In the last election, of the 25 million citizens who did not vote in 2022, 8 million were part of this group, representing an abstention rate of nearly 60 percent.

Among those who decided to cancel their voter registration is 76-year-old Ivalda Barbosa. She says she used to vote only to remain in good standing with the Electoral Court.

According to Ivalda, political participation was not a frequent occurrence or something that was encouraged in her life. Born in a small town in Rio de Janeiro state, it was only at age 38 that she obtained her voter’s card and voted for the first time.

“It was a lack of opportunity. So I chose to vote, but not because I like it – just out of necessity. To have my voter’s card valid,” she said.

One of the future trends identified by Dr. Goulart to reduce voter abstention is an increase in content targeted at the elderly. This could include appropriate themes, language, formats, and channels, whether in election campaigns or institutional initiatives by the government.

“We can reduce voter abstention, but this depends on a specific mobilization effort targeting this group and its subgroups, as well as on reducing concrete barriers to voter turnout. Failure to vote may be linked not only to a lack of political interest but also to mobility limitations, health issues, distance from the polling place, or dependence on family members and caregivers,” she concluded.

*Intern under the supervision of journalist Mariana Tokarnia