Brazil's voter absentee fine unchanged since 1993, remains R$3.51 max

Brazil’s electoral law sets the fine for not voting or not justifying an absence at between 3 % and 10 % of a fixed base of R$35.13. In practice the amount ranges from R$1.05 to R$3.51 per election round and is automatically issued at the maximum value. The penalty has not been adjusted for inflation since 1993; if it were indexed to the IPCA, the fine would be about R$27 today.

Historically the fine was tied to wage‑related indexes such as the UFIR, but after the UFIR’s extinction in 2000 the base was frozen. Legal scholars note that raising the fine is politically unpopular and could disproportionately affect low‑income voters. The low levy is said to protect the existing voting‑mandatory framework, while abstention rates have risen, reaching over 31 million (20 % of eligible voters) in the 2022 general election and exceeding 29 % in the second round of the 2024 municipal elections.