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Electoral Court: Vote counting is transparent, auditable, secure

With the 2026 elections approaching, the Superior Electoral Court has strengthened the security and oversight mechanisms of the electronic voting system. The court’s Secretary of Information Technology, Júlio Valente, explained that the voting process and the tabulation of results are structured in a decentralized and public manner, allowing the data produced at each polling place to be verified. According to Valente, one of the main features of the Brazilian system is that vote tabulation begins at the polling station itself. At the end of voting, the electronic voting machine records the results and prints a ballot box report showing the votes received by candidates and parties. One copy is posted at the polling station, and the data can also be verified later against the results released by the Electoral Court. Notícias relacionadas:Brazil police probe alleged election-period attack plot.Brazil has 158.7 million eligible voters for the October election.Electoral Court approves restrictions on AI use in 2026 elections.The secretary explained that the files containing the results are retrieved from the voting machine and transmitted via encrypted channels. Before being incorporated into the tally, they undergo checks to confirm, among other things, whether they were generated by the electronic voting machine assigned to that polling station and whether they bear the corresponding digital signature. “It’s not just a matter of receiving and adding up the results. Everything is verified,” Valente said. He emphasized that political parties, candidates, and oversight institutions can monitor the different stages of the process. The secretary stated that the electoral system currently offers dozens of opportunities to monitor and audit the process. Valente also highlighted biometrics as one of the security layers of the electoral process. The mechanism is designed to ensure that only an identified voter can unlock the voting machine and cast a ballot. If biometric identification is not possible, the poll worker may authorize the vote while documenting the procedure. The first round of the 2026 elections will be held on October 4, when Brazilians will vote for president, governors of the 27 states, senators, and federal and state representatives - Valter Campanato/ Agência Brasil Recount Challenges to the results may be filed with the Electoral Court, Valente explained. If there is evidence justifying a recount, the voting machines and digital records of the votes remain preserved and sealed after the election to allow for audits. Regarding paper ballots, the secretary pointed out that the implementation of the model provided for under the legislation was deemed unconstitutional by Brazil’s Supreme Court. He also cited the experiment conducted in 2002, when the use of printers caused technical problems and increased the system’s failure rate. Valente stressed that the participation of political parties and institutions in oversight is essential to strengthening public confidence in the electoral process. “The Brazilian electoral process is one of the most secure, modern, and auditable in the world,” he noted. Misinformation Responding to criticism of the security of electronic voting machines, Valente emphasized that there have been no documented cases of fraud in the electronic voting system since its implementation in 1996. According to him, the system replaced paper-ballot voting, which had documented cases of fraud during the collection, tabulation, and storage of votes. For Valente, in addition to the nearly 30-year track record without proven cases of fraud involving electronic voting machines, the possibility of oversight is one of the system’s key security features. The Brazilian electoral process currently includes 40 opportunities for oversight and auditing, allowing the different stages of voting and results tabulation to be monitored and verified. Elections The first round of the 2026 elections will be held on October 4, when Brazilians will vote for president, governors of the 27 states, senators, and federal and state representatives. If a runoff is required for the presidency or a governorship, it will be held on October 25.