With 23% of the electorate, vote 60+ gains prominence, experts say

After a fierce election in 2022, winning the votes of undecided voters or people outside the polarization is one of the challenges for candidates to avoid the same scenario in this year's elections.

Among the country's voters, one group has gained more prominence due to its growth in recent years: the public over 60 years old.

According to a recent survey by the research agency Nexus, with data from the TSE (Superior Electoral Court), between 2010 and March 1, 2026, there was a 74% growth in this portion of the electorate, while the total number increased by 15%.

Updated data from the Electoral Court in June this year shows that this group corresponds to 36.5 million people, equivalent to 23% of the 157.6 million total voters.

Experts consulted by CNN assess that the growth of the 60+ audience and its voting characteristics require specific campaign strategies.

For political scientist Marco Antonio Teixeira, professor at FGV (Fundação Getulio Vargas), the first step is to understand that the historical-cultural scenario in which these voters were forged is very different from the current one. In this way, they tend to lean towards traditional media outlets and also free electoral propaganda broadcast on national radio and television channels.

Even though many of them have access to the internet and use social networks, perceptions and experiences can change the way politicians are seen and analyzed by this public.

This difference in the way younger people and these voters access candidates is one of the essential aspects for this year's campaigns, as complemented by Carolina de Paula, PhD in political sciences, professor at ESPM (Escola Superior de Propaganda e Marketing).

"So this issue we talk about: 'Electoral hours are dead, it doesn't mean anything anymore'. Not for this profile," he says.

According to the expert, another point that can be associated with this analysis is the issue of education. "How come older voters, with less education, still follow the campaign? Probably on TV", he highlights.

The professor also highlights the desire of these voters to go to the polls, even after the age of 70 - when voting becomes optional. According to the TSE, this group represents around 10% of the total eligible voters, equivalent to 16.7 million.

In Marco Teixeira's assessment, one of the reasons behind this desire comes from the fact that many of them have experienced moments of vote deprivation during the Military Dictatorship, which generates this heightened civic desire.

Due to this generational factor, of having experienced a transition from an authoritarian regime to a democratic regime, voting, in this sense, is not just a mandatory vote, but also a duty of civility.

Marco Antonio Teixeira, political scientist

In a scenario of increasing abstentions, this propensity to vote can be a great asset in deciding a tight scenario in the election. However, a big challenge for candidates will be knowing how to communicate effectively with these voters, warns the professor.

"In this act of him wanting to continue voting, he wants the message and policies, not only the campaign messages, but public policies as well, to make sense to him. That's why I imagine that we also have to look at more specific proposals and campaigns for this segment", he points out.

Demands and reach
With the 60+ audience taking a significant position among voters, their needs and demands are beginning to gain more space, as well as the search for candidates to listen to them.

"One of the country's biggest public policy failures is public policies for aging. And one of the biggest challenges in terms of thinking about the country's future is thinking about retirement, thinking about living conditions for those people who are leaving the job market", says Teixeira.

Experts point out that whoever can really listen to these people's voices and present proposals and campaigns that speak to them can take the lead in the race for these votes.

What we see in the surveys is that people still complain a lot, they don't feel covered, both in federal government management and in state issues, they miss it. So I think that whoever sees it, whoever manages to do this reading first or understands that it is important, will create strategies for this audience and, if they don't do it, it is because they are missing an opportunity.

Carolina de Paula, political scientist

Identification beyond proposals
According to Paula, despite stating that the candidates' ages do not matter, voters prefer names with more experience.

Linked to this, Professor Teixeira highlights that voters over 60 tend to focus on a broader scenario than just the current moment, looking for candidates who present long-term projects.

"The demand, let's say, from 60+ is much more for convincing, it's much more for arguing and convincing that this is the best path. As he was forged in this life throughout his career, his electoral decisions tend to be more consistent as well", says the expert.

When captivating these voters, the politician's role is to work on maintaining this trust, since they tend to follow their candidate for longer, showing less volatility in their vote.

"He comes from a more ideological generation, isn't it, therefore, more consolidated in terms of thinking about a country as a project and less as a portrait, less as a moment, right? So, from this aspect, the tendency is for the electorate to be more stable from the point of view of voting decisions, that is, less volatile", he adds.

Number of voters eligible to vote increased by 1.09 million in 2025 | NOW CNN

*Under the supervision of Renata Souza

Source: CNN