President Lula’s campaign asks for free transport for voters — The Rio Times
In Brazil, the coalition of President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva has asked the Superior Electoral Court (TSE) to provide free transport and personally notify voters whose polling stations changed address ahead of the second round of the presidential election on October 25. The Rio Times reports.
The request was filed by the Brasil Pronto Pra Mais coalition on October 17. It asks regional electoral courts to publish, within 48 hours, a complete list of relocated polling sections, indicating the old and new addresses. The campaign also seeks individual notifications via the e-Título app, WhatsApp, SMS, or email.
More than 4,000 relocated sections
The electoral justice system changed the addresses of 4,352 polling sections, which accounts for about 0.87% of their total number in the country. The largest number of such changes was recorded in the state of São Paulo, with 982 sections. In Minas Gerais, 514 sections were relocated; in Rio de Janeiro, 431; and in Bahia, 312.
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According to the TSE, polling stations were relocated due to building renovations, accessibility improvement work, and damage caused by rain. Lula’s campaign says information about the new addresses was available mainly on websites and in apps, which, in its view, may have affected voter turnout in the first round.
Transport proposal
The coalition also asks the TSE to coordinate with municipalities to provide free transportation for voters from their communities to the new polling stations. It is separately proposed to provide special transport for elderly people and people with disabilities.
The electoral court recommends that citizens check their polling station through e-Título or the websites of regional electoral courts. According to the publication, the new voting locations affect approximately 592,000 voters. The Rio Times also reported that, as of the evening of October 18, it had not found an official TSE response to the campaign’s request.
