Liberdade de voto em regiões com maior vulnerabilidade à violência urbana - Estudo da Comunidade do Coroado no bairro de São Marcos em Salvador – Bahia

Abstract

The present work seeks to discuss in which ways the freedom enacted during the right to vote may be influenced by the voter’s environment – in other words, if urban violence increases voters’ vulnerability – by analyzing the case study of the Coroado Community, in the São Marcos district (Salvador-BA, Brazil). The singular context of that community was considered. Besides being marked by the ruling criminality present in the peripheral suburbs of Salvador, it also bears an important characteristic of interest: the existence of a polling place selected by the Brazilian Electoral Justice Department. Grounded on concepts correlated with the territorialization of violence in urban spaces and the Brazilian colonization process, and based on information obtained on interviews with voters, this work analyses the consequences in the exercise of citizenship. Moreover, it discusses the risks posed by the idea of substituting printed vote for electronic voting – a topic frequently mentioned in the media – in an environment where voters are already more vulnerable to violence. In any case, what is clear is that the presence of electoral campaign on the runoff election day (where there are only two candidates) in a community ravaged by the ruling of criminals influenced the results obtained in the ballots in its polling places. Therefore, the institutional mission of the Electoral Justice Department, to guarantee the legitimacy of the electoral process and the freedom to vote in order to strengthen democracy, should also include voters’ perception, for it constitutes an element of a reality plagued by many manifestations of violence. To mitigate the influence of criminality on the electoral process in such scenario, adopting administrative measures – something less complex than legislative proposals and less costly than public safety policies – is essential to guarantee the constitutional right to vote freely, thus making the proceedings of the Electoral Justice more effective.