On October 6, the date of the 1st round of the 2024 Municipal Elections, 155,912,680 voters are eligible to go to the polls to choose mayors, deputy mayors and councilors in 5,569 municipalities across the country. 

As in previous elections, the majority of the electorate is made up of women: they represent 52% of the total, with 81,806,914 female voters. Men total 74,076,997, which is equivalent to 48% of the electorate. Another 28,769 voters, representing 0.02% of the total, did not inform the gender with which they identify.

To ensure that the process is accessible to all voters, the Superior Electoral Court (TSE) has released guidelines on which groups have priority in the voting queue. The rules follow a preference criterion established by electoral legislation, ensuring that people with special needs and certain groups can exercise their right to vote more quickly and without setbacks.

Groups that have priority in voting

Among the groups that have priority are:

• Elderly people over 80 years old: They have absolute priority over all other voters, regardless of the order in which they arrive at the polling station;
  
• Candidates: Those running for public office also have priority in voting;
  
• Electoral Justice officials, prosecutors, electoral judges and military police officers on duty: To ensure that they can fulfill their duties in supporting the election, these professionals have priority to vote;
  
• Elderly people aged 60 and over: They have priority in the voting queue;
  
• Pregnant women, nursing mothers and people with babies: These groups are served with priority to facilitate the voting process;
  
• Sick, obese or disabled people: They also have the right to vote with priority, together with their companions.

Exceptions and order of arrival

The general rule that prevails among voters with priority is the order in which they arrive in the queue. However, voters over 80 years of age have absolute priority, even if they arrive later than the others. In addition, blood donors who present proof of donation within 120 days also have priority when voting.

The importance of respecting priority on voting day

The priorities established by the Electoral Court aim to ensure accessibility and inclusion of all groups in society in the electoral process. This allows voters with special needs to fully participate in the election of their representatives, without additional obstacles or difficulties.