Pandemic interferes in the Brazilian electoral calendar and raises doubts among voters | National newspaper

Woman: I don’t know if we will be safe, if the environment will be ventilated, if there will be protection.
News reporter: Do you know when the elections will fall?
Woman: Do not do.
Man: I just don’t know the date. I know it is November.

The pandemic changed the date of the elections. The first round is scheduled for November 15. And where there is a second round, on November 29.

In 2020, voting begins an hour earlier: it goes from seven in the morning to five in the afternoon local time. From seven to ten in the morning, the preference is for the elderly.

The Electoral Justice reinforced the training of electoral officials. There will be around two million across the country, like Alex Ribeiro and Andréia Kyacek.

“All the teamwork was done, with trained people, then I tell the voter that they are going to vote, that they feel safe just like the people on the other side of the table, we feel safe” says Andréia.

The president of the Superior Electoral Court, Minister Luis Roberto Barroso, explains that the vote will be different because of Covid.

“We removed biometrics because it slowed down the voting process a bit. We take measures to take care of electoral officials, we take measures to avoid queues and crowds and we take measures to protect voters, ”explains Barroso.

Inside the electoral college, many things have changed, starting with the distance. You need to stay one meter away from all election officials who are working on the election. And now you no longer deliver your document to the electoral college, you just present it. Another pollster checks the data. If there is any difficulty in recognition, voters must take two steps back and validate their identity. You have to remove the mask so that she can compare her face with the identity photo.

“This is the only time when you will have to remove your mask safely, there will be a distance between you and the board member,” Andréia explains.

If possible, bring a pen from home to sign the ballot.

All polling stations will have alcohol gel to use before entering the booth and after.

Another request is not to bring companions, such as small children.

“I think it is worth the effort to be able to fulfill this civic duty that we have,” says Alex.

“The voter can appear to vote on November 15 with the certainty that all security measures that could reasonably have been taken effectively were based on the best medical advice available in the country,” says Barroso.