The criticism

“People who can't read have no way to choose well.”

The illiterate must never be rewarded.Senator Miguel Couto (PSD, Rio de Janeiro), in 1964, according to Agência Senado. See the source

The argument is old. In 1964, the government proposed allowing people who cannot read to vote only in elections for mayor and city council. It was in that debate that the senator said the line above. The proposal did not pass.

Those who defend the vote for all reply that people who cannot read work, pay taxes and obey the law like anyone else.

One question remains: who should decide who is ready to vote?