A CNT/MDA survey released this Tuesday (the 10th) found that 68% of respondents trust electronic voting machines, while 28.6% distrust them. The margin of error is 2.2 percentage points.
The latest Datafolha research showed better numbers on the reliability of electronic voting machines in March: 17% said they did not trust electronic voting machines and 82% said they did. The margin of error was two points. Polls are incomparable.
Jair Bolsonaro (PL) campaigns heavily against the electronic voting system and accuses him of fraud, although he never provided evidence. A report published this Tuesday by Folha de S.Paulo showed that his government has used the structure of public institutions to build ammunition against ballot boxes since 2019.
The president’s dedication to convincing voters that there will be more corruption than inflation in October helps explain the number of Brazilians who are skeptical of electronic voting machines. And the consequences may be more lasting than Bolsonaro’s own tenure.
In the United States, then-President Donald Trump attacked the electoral system and accused it of fraud. Most of the voting there is done using paper ballots. The distrust placed by the Republican prompted thousands of his followers to invade Congress on January 6, 2021, an action that resulted in five dead and wounded.
Nearly a year later, a poll by the University of Massachusetts Amherst and the YouGov Institute found that 22% of voters believed Joe Biden’s victory was absolutely illegitimate and 11% possibly illegitimate, while 46% believed it was absolutely legitimate and illegitimate. revealed. probably legitimate.
Among Republicans, 71 percent, doubt the legitimacy of Biden’s election. Thus, Donald Trump managed to cast doubt on his country’s electoral system and tore apart one of his oldest institutions with those who voted for him. It has at great cost to the Republic, guaranteeing fertile political terrain to keep its followers and run again in 2024.
Bolsonaro’s attack at the polls could lead followers to view the next government as illegitimate
Bolsonaro follows the same path. If he loses the October election, if he attempts an electoral coup, he may not be successful, but he will use the electronic voting machine as a reason not to recognize the result, and will further shatter institutions.
From his perspective, this could help question the legitimacy of another elected president’s government, continue to mobilize his fans to return to Planalto Palace four years later, or at least make it harder for him to go to jail. For one of the few crimes he committed before and during his tenure.
When told until it’s gone, lies about the vase become a beacon for millions. All of Brazil doesn’t need to believe them, just have them repeated by some, which will take to the streets to protest their leader.
The difference between the scenarios in Brazil and the US is that the complicity of the Armed Forces, police, and National Congress sectors has eroded the credibility of the Federal Supreme Court and Supreme Electoral Court through the action of the president. It will make the US Capitol invasion feel like a Sunday walk in the park.
source: Noticias
