Brazil’s Chamber president to submit printed ballot proposal to plenary vote

RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – Chamber of Deputies President Arthur Lira (PP-AL) on Friday said he will submit to the full chamber the proposed constitutional amendment (PEC) that mandates a printed ballot for elections, despite the proposal having been roundly rejected by a special committee the day before.

Lira said the decision is intended to pacify the 2022 elections, after the printed ballot issue became the cause of tremendous tension between President Jair Bolsonaro – its staunch advocate – and the Supreme Electoral Court (TSE) leadership, which maintains the current system’s integrity. “Printed ballots are ruling Brazil, it’s not fair to the country,” Lira said in a statement.

“For those who say democracy is at risk, there is nothing more free, broad and representative than letting the plenary express itself,” he added.

The day before, the Chamber’s special committee rejected – 23 to 11 -the mandatory addition of printed ballots to electronic votes in a major defeat for Bolsonaro.

For a Proposed Amendment to the Constitution (PEC) to be approved it needs the support of 308 of the 513 deputies in two rounds of voting and then, also in two rounds, the votes of 49 of the 81 senators.