The legal tie-breaker
Under Article 110 of Brazil’s Electoral Code, if candidates receive exactly the same number of votes, the older candidate is elected. The Electoral Justice does not need to call a new vote simply to break the tie.
This rule applies to an actual tie in the official count. It is not the same as a “technical tie” in an opinion poll, where candidates’ estimated support is close or the difference falls within the poll’s margin of error. A poll does not establish that the candidates received equal votes at the ballot box.
How the rule applies in a runoff
If the two candidates in a runoff finish with exactly the same vote total, the older candidate wins under the legal criterion. Age determines the outcome; it does not give that candidate extra votes or require officials to recount until one candidate pulls ahead.
The legislation also addresses a tie among candidates competing for a place in the runoff: the older candidate is qualified. That is distinct from a tie between the two candidates in the runoff itself, even though age is the stated criterion for resolving the equality in both situations.
Rare, but possible
An exact tie is unusual, especially in contests with many voters, but it can happen. Ties have been recorded in municipal elections, where the number of voters may be smaller. In 2020, for example, two mayoral candidates in Caraúbas, in the state of Paraíba, each received 1,761 votes; the older candidate was declared elected under the legal rule.
So if the official second-round count confirms an exact tie, the outcome is not another election: the older candidate is elected. A technical tie reported by a poll does not trigger this procedure, because only the actual vote count can establish a tie in the election.