Well, I don't know if any of you guys would care, but we just finished our presidential election. All votes were counted after just 6 hours. An amazing feat, given Brazil's continental dimensions. Electronic voting worked really well (we've been using it for 10 years now). Well...as I said, Lula just got reelected. Good for us, I guess. 23 years of democratic elections and going strong! Posted by Storm Saxon (Member # 3101) on :
Awesome.
Just out of curiosity, what safeguards do you guys use in your electronic voting?
Posted by Eduardo_Sauron (Member # 5827) on :
I found a very informative article about it here at wikipedia., SS. Hope it sates your curiosity Posted by Storm Saxon (Member # 3101) on :
Interesting. Thanks. Posted by Megan (Member # 5290) on :
Eduardo, I heard it mentioned this morning on NPR that voting is mandatory in Brazil. Is that true?
Posted by Eduardo_Sauron (Member # 5827) on :
Yes. It is mandatory (of course, if you are traveling or otherwise unable to vote, you may justify your absence in a post office). If you don't vote, you are fined. If you don't vote three times in a row, your electoral registration is blocked and you have to apply for a new one (more fines ensuing). There are also other problems, such as: you can't work for any government-controlled Company, etc.
Posted by Megan (Member # 5290) on :
Interesting. Thanks for the quick answer!
Posted by mr_porteiro_head (Member # 4644) on :
I was in Curitiba, Brazil during a national election. It was a circus.
No, I take that back. A circus is a restrained, reserved affair in comparison to the massive campaigning I saw.
At its height, I couldn't even see the sidewalk because of all the pamphlets that her strewn about.
Personally, I am very much against mandatory voting.
Posted by Megan (Member # 5290) on :
Yeah, I'm not a fan either. I was just curious a) if it was accurate, and b) if it was, how it was handled.
Posted by Eduardo_Sauron (Member # 5827) on :
When was that Porter (I know you were a missionary here. I mean the year, hehehe)? Well, about the mandatory voting, I don't know...maybe it's something to do with one's upbringing. Over here people couldn't vote for a loooong time (because we had that nagging 20 year Military Dictatorship). So, when we rewrote the Constitution, in 1988, It was deemed important that EVERYONE should vote in the following elections. Thus, the mandatory voting. Well, I guess if I lived in a country where it wasn't mandatory, I'd find it weird, just as you do. We're pretty much used to it. :-)
Posted by mr_porteiro_head (Member # 4644) on :
It was 1994.
quote:because we had that nagging 20 year Military Dictatorship
We [USA] were partially responsible for that, weren't we? Sorry about that.
Eduardo, [e Monica? That song is now going through my head. I apologize for what must be a dreadfully tiring joke for you.] I am not opposed to mandatory voting merely because it's not what I'm used to. I have thought about it, and I think it's a bad idea. I would strongly fight mandatory voting if it ever came up here.
I'm against it because I think it exacerbates some of the most unfortunate aspects of democracy. When people choose to vote or not, you the people who vote at least care about it a little, and are more likely to be informed, at least a little, even if it's just "Candidate A supports my view on hot-button issue B."
True, we get people voting here because candidate X was more charming or had more clever commercials, but I think those problems would be increased if everybody were forced to vote.
That having been said, I do think that voting is not only a right, but a duty and an obigation, although one that I am opposed to requiring by law.
Posted by Eduardo_Sauron (Member # 5827) on :
1994...yeah...Lula lost that one to Fernando Henrique Cardoso. I think this election was much more subdued than the ones we used to have back in the nineties (I guess it was all that novelty of getting to vote for President after so many years, hehehe). About the mandatory voting: I don't think you are wrong, by all means. I am pretty much used to it, it's true, but I think it would be better if I could choose to vote or not. Now...I also think that such things happens because of each country's History. I see the mandatory voting here as an overreaction due to a traumatizing experience (the Dictatorship). So, although I don't personally agree with it, I see where this law come from. I (and many people over here) think that we'll be able to outgrow it eventually. It takes time to heal some wounds, you know.
Posted by mr_porteiro_head (Member # 4644) on :
It makes sense that the voting in 94 was kinda weird, since it was such a new thing. I'll bet the elections in 1900 were pretty weird over here as well.
Yeah, a lot of laws only really make sense in that it makes sense the way they got here, and that it's too difficult to change, but not that they make sense to actualy have them now. I understand.
Posted by Eduardo_Sauron (Member # 5827) on :
The 94 voting were the second one after the new Democracy (the first was in 1989). But yeah, it was still a novelty. The last time we got to elect a President over here before that, my father was too young to vote, hehehe. But we're getting the hang of it already ;-)
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