More than 155 million Brazilians are eligible to vote next Sunday (6), during the first round of municipal elections. The electoral period is supervised by members of various state and federal bodies.
During the election, several crimes are foreseen around attitudes that distort the democratic process. Almost all offenses are punishable by imprisonment.
THE CNN spoke with experts in electoral and constitutional law, who analyzed the main electoral crimes and their consequences.
Main electoral crimes
Violence has been a constant in municipal elections, but bodily harm – which, in essence, is in the Penal Code – is not the only common crime during this period. Experts in Electoral Law Alexandre Rollo and Antonio Carlos de Freitas Jr listed the main illegalities foreseen as “electoral crimes” and their possible punishments.
Vote buying
The crime is characterized by offering, promising, requesting or receiving money, gifts or any other advantage, to obtain or give a vote (or even to promise to abstain). The penalty is imprisonment for up to four years and payment of a fine of five to fifteen days.
Election harassment
It is described as violence or threats to coerce someone to vote (or not vote) for a certain candidate or party. It can lead to imprisonment of up to four years and payment of five to fifteen days fine.
Disinformation (Fake News)
It consists of disclosing, in propaganda or during the electoral campaign period, untrue facts – the so-called “fake news” – in relation to parties or candidates. The penalty is imprisonment for two months to one year, or payment of 120 to 150 fine days.
The postgraduate professor in Electoral Law at the Escola Judiciária Eleitoral Paulista (TRE-SP), Alexandre Rollo, analyzed and highlighted that the same penalties are also applied to those who produce, offer or sell videos with untrue content about parties or candidates.
“The penalty increases by a third to half if the crime is committed through the press, radio or television, via the internet or social media, or even if it is transmitted in real time”, highlights Rollo.
Insult, defamation or slander
Experts point out that there are three crimes that are always mentioned together, but with some differences. Their limitations occur in offense to dignity, in the case of injury; spreading facts that offend reputation in the case of defamation; and falsely imputing facts defined as a crime in the case of slander.
Such crimes can result in imprisonment of up to six months (libel), three months to one year (defamation) and six months to two years (slander), in addition to the payment of fines.
Political violence against women
It consists of harassing, embarrassing, humiliating, persecuting or threatening, by any means, a candidate for an elective position or holder of an elective mandate, using contempt or discrimination against the condition of a woman or her color, race or ethnicity, with the purpose of prevent or hinder your electoral campaign or the performance of your elected mandate. The penalty for cases like this is one to four years in prison, in addition to a fine.
According to Alexandre Rollo, the crime has an aggravating factor, depending on the profile and conditions of the victim.
“And it increases by a third if the crime is committed against a pregnant woman, over 60 years old, or with a disability”, highlights the electoral law professor.
Ideological Falsehood
It is considered a crime to omit, in a public or private document, the statement that should appear in it. Or, insert false information or information that is different from what should be written. If carried out for electoral purposes, this crime can result in imprisonment of up to five years and a fine, if it is a public document, and three years and a fine if the document is private.
“The severity and punishment increase if the person responsible for falsifying documents is a public official and commits the crime using his position”, explains Rollo.
Fraudulent electoral poll
Companies that carry out public opinion polls relating to elections are required to validate some important information with the Electoral Court days before its release. Otherwise, this dissemination of fraudulent research is considered a crime, with punishment expected from six months to one year, in addition to a fine of 50 thousand to 100 thousand UFIR.
Propaganda on election day (exit poll)
Holding the so-called “exit poll” on election day is a crime, with detention of six months to one year and alternative provision of services to the community for the same period.
“This applies to the use of loudspeakers, rallies, motorcades, voter recruitment”, explains Antonio Carlos de Freitas Jr, who highlights, however, “that voters are allowed to express their preference individually and silently” .
Hiring “hate offices”
It involves the direct or indirect hiring of a group of people with the specific purpose of issuing messages or comments on the internet to offend the honor or denigrate the image of a candidate, party or coalition. The penalty ranges from 2 to 4 years in prison, with a fine of between R$15,000 and R$50,000.
Irregular transportation of voters
The crime is provided for in art. 302 of the Electoral Code, this crime includes the provision of free public transport on voting day. The penalty for this infraction is the greatest of electoral crimes, with four to six years of imprisonment, in addition to the payment of 200 to 300 fine days.
Electoral slush fund
It occurs when the candidate uses resources in an undeclared way, outside the accounting required by electoral legislation. For Antonio Carlos de Freitas Jr, this is one of the most common in these elections.
“The number of investigations related to the embezzlement of electoral funds has increased significantly. There are more than 600 inquiries on the topic, demonstrating a significant increase related to this illegal practice. Many of the cases involve the use of fraudulent means, such as omission or false statements to obtain individual gains”, he points out.
This content was originally published in Find out what the main electoral crimes and their consequences are on the CNN Brasil website.
Source: CNN Brasil
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