When will the second round of the 2024 municipal elections be?

In the 2024 municipal elections, 103 municipalities may have a second round contest to determine the mayor on October 27th − three weeks after the first round.

As established by the Federal Constitution (arts. 28 and 29), this possibility is restricted to cities with more than 200 thousand voters and in situations in which no list of candidates for mayor wins an absolute majority (i.e., 50% + 1 vote ) of valid votes (i.e., disregarding blank and invalid votes).

In the second round, voters return to the polls to decide between the two candidates with the most votes in the first round and the one with the highest support rate wins, excluding blank and invalid votes. In municipalities where this is not possible, the candidate who finishes the contest with the most votes wins.

According to data from the Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics (IBGE), only 103 of the 5,568 municipalities (i.e., 1.85%) meet the population criteria. By way of comparison, in the last municipal elections, held in 2012, there were second rounds in only 50 of the 5,568 municipalities, according to the Superior Electoral Court (TSE). In that election, 95 cities had more than 200 thousand inhabitants.

Also read:

• Who are the candidates for mayors in the 26 capitals?
• How does the electronic voting machine work?
• What is the difference between a blank and a null vote?

It is also worth highlighting that this hypothesis is only valid in majority elections of the Executive Branch − that is, the list of councilors elected in each municipality for the next legislature will already be known on the first Sunday night of October.

In the 2024 municipal elections, for the first time Palmas (TO) will be able to have a second round. The capital of Tocantins surpassed the 200 thousand inhabitants mark and joined the other capitals of the country, as pointed out by the TSE.

See the complete list of 103 municipalities in which there may be a second round contest.