Voters face long queues and problems with ballot boxes in Petrópolis and Nova Friburgo

Hey guys. Updates for you who vote at the Catholic University of Petrópolis (UCP). According to voters there, there is a delay in queues at several sections this Sunday (4); waiting time is 20 to 30 minutes.

USP is considered one of the largest voting locations in Petrópolis, with 5098 voters. Previously with 10 polling stations, this year it also received voters who voted at Escola Municipal Senador Mário Martins, in Caxambu.

With the change, the site now has sections 31, 32, 33, 113, 145, 154, 158, 167, 178, 188, 151, 164, 175, 186 and 199.

In Nova Friburgo, nursing technician Valdineia de Assis Ferreira complains about the long queues in the sections at the Colégio EstadualCanada, in the Olaria neighborhood. She states that she had been waiting since 8am because the ballot box had jammed and made voting difficult.

"It's very slow and difficult. If the ballot box was stuck, it had to be reset. There was a long delay and I've been there since eight in the morning until now. Voting is very slow. It's going to be difficult for everyone to vote," said Valdineia.

Closing is scheduled for 5pm, Brasília time. However, this does not mean that whoever is in line at 5pm will be left without voting.

If there are voters in line at the time of closing, poll workers must identify these people and provide a password. Voting continues until everyone who was in line at the deadline has voted.

On a day marked by popular participation, four cloistered nuns from Teresópolis left the reserved routine of the convent for a few hours to exercise their right to vote. Sister Bernadette, Sister Maria and Sister Mariana went to the polls to participate in the celebration of democracy.

For Sister Bernadette of Maria Imaculada, the moment also represents a way of exercising citizenship and setting an example. Sister Mariana Aparecida of the Sacred Heart of Jesus and Saint Joseph recalled that, for them, who live in seclusion, going out to vote is also a way of participating in society. According to her, the nuns' work is done through prayer, but, on that day, it also includes voting.

Between prayer and the exercise of citizenship, the three nuns reinforced that voting is a form of participation in society and that each citizen can contribute to building the country.