Editing Elections in Brazil (section)

==Electoral systems==
{{Main|Electoral system of Brazil}}
A presidential candidate in Brazil needs to gain fifty per cent plus one of votes to be named as winner. A second-round runoff is mandated if no candidate receives fifty per cent plus one of votes.<ref>[https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2018/09/brazil-lula-renounces-candidacy-presidential-poll-180910132703852.html Brazil: Lula renounces candidacy ahead of presidential] poll</ref>

Deputies are elected to the Chamber of Deputies using a form of [[party-list proportional representation]] known as the [[open list]]. Seats are distributed in 27 multi-member constituencies based on the Federation Units (26 States and the Federal District), ranging from 8 to 70 seats. Seats are allocated through the [[D'Hondt method]].<ref>{{cite news|date=2011-02-22|access-date=2011-05-04|title=Grumpy about voting reform|newspaper=[[The Economist]]|url=http://www.economist.com/node/21016239}}</ref>

Senators are elected to the Federal Senate with a plurality of the vote in a [[First-past-the-post voting|first-past-the-post system]], which is not proportional.<ref>{{cite web|access-date=2011-05-04|title=The Federal Senate|publisher=Portal da Câmara dos Deputados|url=http://www2.camara.gov.br/english/the-federal-senate}}</ref> Three senators are elected for each [[States of Brazil|state]] and for the [[Federal District (Brazil)|Federal District]].<ref>{{cite web|last=Andrianantoandro|first=Andy|date=2010-10-14|access-date=2011-05-04|title=Brazil's Presidential Hopefuls Face Runoff, National Congress Needs Reform|publisher=[[FairVote]].org|url=http://www.fairvote.org/brazil-s-presidential-hopefuls-face-runoff-national-congress-needs-reform/}}</ref>

In lower levels of government, the [[Legislative Assemblies of Brazilian states|state legislative assemblies]] and city councils are elected using an [[open list]] [[proportional representation]] system. Seats are allocated using a version of the [[D'Hondt method]] where only parties who receive at least V/n votes (where V is the total number of votes cast and n is the total number of seats to be filled) may win seats in the legislature.<ref>{{cite web|access-date=2017-09-01|title=Como funciona o sistema proporcional?|publisher=Tribunal Superior Eleitoral (Superior Electoral Court)|url=http://www.tse.jus.br/institucional/escola-judiciaria-eleitoral/revistas-da-eje/artigos/revista-eletronica-eje-n.-5-ano-3/como-funciona-o-sistema-proporcional|archive-date=2017-09-02|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170902044435/http://www.tse.jus.br/institucional/escola-judiciaria-eleitoral/revistas-da-eje/artigos/revista-eletronica-eje-n.-5-ano-3/como-funciona-o-sistema-proporcional|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|last=Romao|first=Mauricio|date=2010-05-05|access-date=2017-09-01|title=Parlamentares "Eleitos Por Média"|url=http://mauricioromao.blog.br/parlamentares-eleitos-por-media/}}</ref>

Voting in Brazil is compulsory for all literate citizens over 18 and under 70, and optional for citizens who are aged 16 and 17, older than 70 or illiterate. Brazil introduced compulsory voting into its Electoral Code in 1932 and lowered the voting age from 18 to 16 in the 1988 constitution.<ref>{{cite web|publisher=Tribunal Superior Eleitoral (Superior Electoral Court)|access-date=2019-04-08|title="Voting is compulsory for Brazilians aged 18 to 70"|url=http://english.tse.jus.br/noticias-tse-en/2014/Outubro/voting-is-compulsory-for-brazilians-aged-18-to-70/|archive-date=2020-11-11|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201111174230/http://english.tse.jus.br/noticias-tse-en/2014/Outubro/voting-is-compulsory-for-brazilians-aged-18-to-70|url-status=dead}}</ref> The 1988 constitution also granted voluntary suffrage to the illiterate citizens of Brazil.<ref>{{cite journal|last1=Power|first1=Timothy J.|date=2009|title=Compulsory for Whom? Mandatory Voting and Electoral Participation in Brazil, 1986-2006|journal=Journal of Politics in Latin America|volume=1|issue=1|pages=97–122|doi=10.1177/1866802x0900100105|doi-access=free}}</ref>