Sales of plastic voting receipts are on the rise with revenue expected to double

Companies that sell materials used to laminate documents have seen more movement these days, and many are preparing to attend this Sunday, August 20, for the 13 million Ecuadorians who are invited to vote and who are potential customers to laminate their voting certificates.

Germania Chóez arrived at a store in the center of Guayaquil this Friday to stock up on plastic. “I take twelve boxes and I get 100 units in each one, and I charge $0.25 for a plastic sheet,” says this mother who has already helped herself with her expenses in this way because she is unemployed. He says that he devotes himself to it “every year”.

Presidential election, “opportunity for additional earnings to offset a bad situation” for businesses near polling stations

And that is that in Ecuador since 2013 they had to go to the polls ten times, including the first and second round of general elections, sectional elections and popular consultations.

Six months ago there were already elections; on that occasion, there was a renewal of the mayor, prefect and representatives of the parish councils, along with the Citizens’ Participation Council. Elections are held every two years; sectional and general are intertwined.

But now in the same year, the two are merging: the sections were held last February, and the elections for the election of the new President of the Republic and members of the new National Assembly have been moved to this August 20, because President Guillermo Lasso declared death on the cross on May 17 of last year.

This is why he will be running for election for the eleventh time in the last ten years. And if there is a second round, there will be twelve electoral processes.

Going to the polls often is a business opportunity for Marcela Jiménez. Use the election process for extra income every election day. He comments that each plastic box used to laminate the voting receipts costs $2.50 and that he “makes $25 for every card sold.”

Jiménez adds that he offered this service three times during the election days, and now he hopes to double his income. “The three times I worked from 05:30 to 17:00 outside the José Mejía Lequerica school (located in Guasmo Sur) I managed to sell three boxes, getting $75. For this Sunday I have six boxes to sell,” the account.

Meanwhile, various cybernetic owners near the University of Guayaquil, in the north of the city, comment that they are stocking up on this material to meet the demand that occurs during the elections. This material can be purchased made to order — in ballot paper size — or also in A4 format.

A leave, a day off, and even an additional vacation is available to the company for those who work on election Sunday

Jorge bought three boxes of certificate-sized plastic two weeks ago, ready to run through a laminating machine he got from a paper, board and graphics distributor.

These laminators are on the market for $29.90 plus VAT (value added tax: 12%), and there are various options with other prices between $30 and $150.

Likewise, Paúl Parra says that he supplies the same custom-made boxes with his usual distributor and that the price has not increased because of the new elections that will take place this Sunday.

Flavio Haro, the owner of the advertising center, on the other hand, most often buys plastic A4 format boxes, which come in 100 pieces, and he can plasticize up to ten ballots in each sheet. This box is purchased for $20.

The cost of the plastic that comes to be measured for the ballot is $2 per box and $16 for ten boxes. This is how they sell them in a distributor located near the State University of Guayaquil.

The armed forces are guarding 4,390 polling stations for three days before the elections on Sunday, August 20.

This trend of buying plastic occurs every time there is an election, which represents an increase in sales, as well as other types of businesses located around the polling stations that have high expectations of additional earnings this Sunday, August 20; For example, food stores, soft drink stores and bazaars that will open early by taking advantage of the special day.

Questions and answers Elections 2023