Abstention falls among young, elderly and less educated people in the 1st round, according to TSE

Abstention in the first round of this election fell among young people up to 18 years old, the elderly, and less educated people compared to 2022, contrary to the upward trend recorded in the general count, according to data from the TSE (Superior Electoral Court).

The groups that showed a reduction in abstention in the first round are those in which President Lula has better results in polls of voting intentions, according to Datafolha.

Despite the drop, some of them continue to be those with the highest percentage of absentees at the polls. One of the strategies of the PT campaign in this second round is to further reduce abstention in this electorate. The PT wants to reinforce the dissemination of information that going to the vote serves as proof of life for INSS retirees and pensioners, in order to increase the participation of elderly people in the election.

The areas of the electorate in which Senator Flávio Bolsonaro (PL) had better results (with a higher level of education and aged between 25 and 44 years) showed an increase in abstention compared to 2022, but at levels similar to the general level.

General abstention in the country rose from 20.79% in 2022 to 21.08%, maintaining a constant increase since 2006.

The sharpest drops occurred precisely in the group that is not obliged to vote. Among voters aged 16 or 17, abstention fell 4.4 percentage points, from 17.11% in 2022 to 12.68% this year. The absence of those aged 70 or over went from 58.86% four years ago to 49.19% in 2026, a negative variation of 9.7 percentage points.

The group of voters over 70 years old continues to be the one with the highest percentage of abstention among all groups. In addition to the non-obligation and possible difficulty in getting to the voting points, experts point out a possible delay in electoral registration, with the maintenance of the list of people who died.

At the same time, with the aging of the population, this group has been growing its share of the electorate, representing 10.87% of the total.

TSE data also shows a reduction in abstention among elderly people between 60 and 69 years old, who are still forced to vote.

The age group in which abstention grew the most was between 21 and 24 years old. More than a quarter of this group (25.78%) did not go to the polls, despite the obligation. The percentage represents an increase of 2.28 percentage points compared to 2022. This group is also included among those who tend to vote more for President Lula, according to polls.

Flávio Bolsonaro presents his best results in the electorate between 25 and 44 years old. This group showed an increase in abstention, but maintains a percentage close to the average.

In the analysis by level of education, the sharpest drop occurred among those registered as illiterate. The reduction was 4.22 percentage points (from 52.08% to 47.86%) in this group which represents, according to the TSE, 7.89% of the electorate. According to IBGE, the rate in 2025 was 4.9%.

There was also a drop among those registered as reading and writing (1.95 percentage points) and those with incomplete primary education (0.32). Even with the reduction, the least educated continue to have a higher abstention rate than others.

The other groups by level of education showed an increase, including those with incomplete (2.11 percentage points more) and complete (1.99) higher education. Both electorates, however, remain below the general abstention average.

In the analysis by gender, there was little change in relation to previous elections. Women maintained a lower abstention rate than men. Both had a slight increase similar to the national average (0.2 and 0.13, respectively).

Until 2022, abstention always increased in the second round. The fierce dispute between Lula and Jair Bolsonaro registered the first drop in this phase of the elections since 2002, when the use of electronic voting machines became universal.

TSE data show that the reduction also occurred in the electorate closest to the PT member: less educated, younger or elderly.