Candidates for federal deputy do not depend solely on the votes received to win a seat in the Chamber. Elected according to the proportional system, parliamentarians, together with their parties or party federations, must also reach the indices defined by the electoral quotient and the party quotient.
This same process is valid for state and district deputies and councilors contesting the elections. It is the electoral and party quotients that define, after the results at the polls, the number of seats for parties and party federations, as well as the candidates who will be entitled to them.
See how these indices are calculated.
Electoral and partisan quotients distribute parliamentary seats
The electoral quotient is defined by the sum of the number of valid votes divided by the number of seats in dispute in the Chamber or Assembly – the valid votes are those for a candidate or a party, excluding blanks and nulls.
It is worth remembering that the number of seats for federal, state/district and councilors varies according to the state or municipality.
For example: the state of São Paulo currently has 70 seats in the Chamber of Deputies. If there are 17.5 million useful votes in the election for that position, this value is divided by 70 – the number of seats for federal deputies from São Paulo in the Chamber – and the result of the calculation is the electoral quotient (in this case, 250 thousand).
From there, the party quotient is analyzed, which is the result of the number of valid votes obtained by the party (or party federation) divided by the electoral quotient. The account balance corresponds to the number of seats to be occupied by the legend.
If party A, therefore, received 1 million votes for federal deputy in the state of São Paulo, this amount will be divided by the electoral quotient (250 thousand). The result is that this party, in the example considered, will have four seats in the Chamber of Deputies.
Can a party get a seat even without reaching the electoral quotient?
In principle, only parties or party federations that reach the electoral quotient are entitled to a parliamentary seat. But there is another way, through the distribution of so-called “surplus votes”.
According to Ricardo Vita Porto, president of the Electoral Commission of the Brazilian Bar Association (OAB) in São Paulo, about 30% of the 70 seats in São Paulo for federal deputy are occupied by vacancies considered to be “surplus”.
Before 2018, only the parties that had reached the seat were granted the distribution of the surplus, but the rule changed in the last presidential election. In practice, explains Vita Porto, smaller parties had more access to seats in the Legislature.
There is one more rule, which will be applied for the first time in 2022. Now, parties must reach at least 80% of the electoral quotient to be included in the distribution of leftovers. In this contest, the party with the most excess votes wins.
Following the same example, with an electoral quotient of 250 thousand. Party A wins 1 million and 210 thousand votes, winning four seats and having an excess of 210 thousand votes. Party B has 200,000 votes, without winning any seats in the Chamber.
If an extra fifth seat is up for grabs, Party A wins, precisely because it has 10,000 votes in excess of Party B.
The obstacle to vote pullers
To get a seat in the Legislature, the party needs a significant vote to the point of being entitled to a seat. However, since 2016, there is another restriction. The party that won one or more seats can only occupy it if the candidate ranked has obtained at least 10% of the electoral quotient.
“This serves to avoid the effect of those candidates who pull votes, preventing those who had an inexpressive vote from winning a seat. So, to occupy a seat, the candidate must have, at least, one nominal vote above 10% of the electoral quotient”, explains the president of the OAB/SP Electoral Law Commission.
There is an improvement that starts to take effect this year. As of the 2022 elections, when the seat is coming from a distribution of leftovers, the candidate must have obtained at least 20% of the electoral quotient to win a parliamentary seat.
Debate
THE CNN will hold the first presidential debate of 2022. The clash between the candidates will be broadcast live on August 6, on TV and on our digital platforms.
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Source: CNN Brasil
