A experiência eleitoral em Campos dos Goytacazes (1870-1889): freqüência eleitoral e perfil da população votante

• Autor(a) principal: Nunes,Neila Ferraz Moreira
• Data de Publicação: 2003
• Tipo de documento: Artigo
• Idioma: por
• Título da fonte: Dados - Revista de Ciências Sociais
• Texto Completo: http://old.scielo.br/scielo.php?script=sci_arttext&pid=S0011-52582003000200005
• topic: elections; frequency of elections; political participation; voter profile

This article analyses several dimensions in the Brazilian electoral experience in the 19th century (1870-1889), based on evidence from the municipality of Campos dos Goytacazes, Rio de Janeiro State. The study focuses on three main questions: frequency of elections, voter registration rates, and the profile of qualified voters. According to data from the Rio de Janeiro State Archives and Campos dos Goytacazes Municipal Archives, ordinary citizens voted frequently during the period studied, sometimes more than once a year. Data from the ''Voter Qualification Lists'' in the municipality were used to calculate the voter registration rates (number of registered voters divided by the population) and establish a profile of voters in the region based on age, occupation, schooling, and income. The voter profile included a large share of both illiterate and low-income voters, which nonetheless did not mean a democratization of the exercise of political power in a slave-owning society marked by heavy social exclusion and poverty.