Analysis: Why Brazil’s Chamber of Deputies rejected printed ballots, a Bolsonaro initiative

RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – The Lower House of Brazil’s National Congress rejected on Tuesday, August 10, the proposal to amend the Constitution (PEC) that would have mandated printed ballots in Brazil.

The result was closer than many had expected, with 229 votes in favor, 218 against, and one abstention. Under the 1988 Constitution, to be enacted, a PEC requires the support of 60% of all members of the National Congress: 308 of the 513 deputies in the lower house, in two rounds of voting, and then 49 of the 81 senators.

The rejection represents a defeat for President Jair Bolsonaro in Congress, something that he probably has himself to blame for, at least in part.

The idea of introducing an additional security layer with printed ballots and thus anchoring the purely electronic election process more firmly in the “analog” world, makes sense from a factual point of view, according to PEC supporters, who claim there is no such thing as introducing too many security procedures in such vital matters.

Opponents of the PEC, on the other hand, have claimed that the history of electronic ballots, applied in elections every two years since 1996, clearly demonstrates the absence of fraud; they also recall the widespread incidence of vote manipulations when only paper ballots were used.

In the end, the vote was perhaps not so much about the issue itself as about making it unmistakably clear to the president that he had better work on his communication skills if he wants to get controversial bills through Congress.

Following this outcome, the question of printed ballots in Brazil will most likely be closed. The special committee tasked with examining it had already recommended rejection of the introduction of printed ballots last Thursday (5th) by 23 votes to 11.

However, the President of the Chamber of Deputies, Arthur Lira (PP-AL), decided to refer the motion to the plenary so that all deputies could vote on it. “The democracy of the plenary of the House has given an answer to this question, and I hope that this matter is now settled,” Lira said after the announcement of the result.

The PEC was proposed by MP Bia Kicis (PSL-DF) and provided for printing “physical ballots that can be verified by the voter” regardless of the medium used to register votes in elections, referendums, and plebiscites.

The idea was to add a printer to the electronic voting station that could print out a receipt that voters could use to verify their choice – perhaps like the receipts issued by ATMs.

Like Bolsonaro, Bia Kicis, claims to be concerned that the all-electronic ballot box could potentially be vulnerable to fraud. However, the Supreme Electoral Tribunal (TSE), in charge of implementing the system, has never been convinced of this idea.

The TSE opposed the change and reiterated that the electronic ballot box is already verifiable and secure enough. The difference of opinion has led to bad blood between the TSE and President Jair Bolsonaro, who tends to rely on bullying tactics rather than persuasion strategies on emotionally charged issues.

By doing so, he loses support, even on matters that might be easy to defend, such as printed ballots.

It was no help that the president insinuated on several occasions that there might not be an election if the printed ballot PEC was not approved; these remarks cost him goodwill among the legislators.

Even worse was Bolsonaro’s spur-of-the-moment decision to hold a military parade, complete with tanks and other heavy war machinery, which would drive by the Congress building, on the morning before the scheduled plenary vote in the Chamber of Deputies.

No one likes to be backed into a corner, and a more constructive and inclusive approach might have been sufficient to convince more members of Congress of the usefulness of this initiative.