Como ser um eleitor exigente e um candidato ideal

Abstract

After an introduction about the importance of voting at the municipal level for inhabitants living in a democracy and focusing on municipal elections in Brazil, we begin to discuss a profile for the “ideal voter,” who should investigate candidacies in a multifaceted way and not just based on a single criterion. We put forward 10 points that can be used as a guide for voters to help evaluate candidacies. We suggest a way to compare candidates using a numerical ranking (scores from zero to ten), with the average being the criterion to find the best candidates. Next, we describe a profile of the “ideal candidates” for executive and legislative positions in cities. Anchored in work performed by the University of São Paulo within the scope of the Institute of Advanced Studies and the USP Thematic Axes Program, we describe seven essential points for public policy applications in Brazilian cities. One of the main arguments is that, for democracy to work, voters need to engage in deeper analyses of candidates, preventing them from being elected through a process that, in many cases, is almost random.