How does Brazil vote on electronic machines, and what do the debates say?
Brazilians vote on electronic machines that keep no paper record of each vote, and the machines have been argued over for years.
Brazilians vote on a small electronic machine instead of marking paper. The voter dials the number of a candidate or party, sees the name and photo on the screen, and presses a green button to confirm or an orange button to correct. Paper ballots are used only if a machine malfunctions, or in places abroad with fewer than 100 voters.
Step 1: Dial the number
Type the number of the candidate or party
Step 2: Check the screen
Name and photo of the candidate appear
Step 3: Confirm or correct
Green button confirms, orange corrects
Step 4: Totals are printed
Each machine prints its totals after polls close
The system was first deployed in 1996, in pilot use in dozens of , and was progressively expanded nationwide. It is run by the Electoral Justice, headed by the Superior Electoral Court, the TSE.
Does that make it safe? That is the debate. After voting ends, every machine prints a record of its total votes for each candidate or party, which is publicly displayed for comparison with the results published electronically. On the eve of an election, machines are chosen and held back for a "" audit, held in the presence of representatives designated by the political parties. The TSE also runs a Public Safety Test, which any citizen over 18 can register to attend: when participants succeed in attacking the system, the TSE corrects it, and as of 2022 all found had been corrected. Supporters also argue that, unless fraud were built into the machines in advance, a large fraud could not be carried out in so short a time.
Critics raise other points. The system does not create a physical record of individual votes that would allow a full recount, and critics argue the machines give voters no receipt. The is closed to the general public but periodically open to inspection by some entities, universities and all political parties. Questions remain about security, but no case of election fraud has been uncovered.
Jair Bolsonaro, first as a member of the Chamber of Deputies and later as president, alleged for years that the machines were prone to rigging. Authorities and forensic experts ruled out fraud behind the 2018 claims, and in July 2022 the electoral authority issued a statement rebutting several of his new ones.
Quiz me
0/3
Recap
Supporters point to audits and tests; critics point to the lack of a voter receipt or paper record.
💡 A trick to remember it · Dial, confirm, audit: green to confirm, parallel to check, and the paper-record question still open.
Surprising fact · Paper ballots are used only if a machine malfunctions or abroad where fewer than 100 people vote, and no case of election fraud has been uncovered.
Connects to
- 🖨️ How are ballots cast and counted: paper, scanners and hand counts?
- 🔁 How are election results certified, and what does a recount change?
- 🎲 What is a risk-limiting audit, and how few ballots can confirm a result?
- 🗳️ Who actually runs an election in the US, the UK and Brazil?
- 🔑 How do computers tell a file hasn't been changed?
Sources (2)
No source, no claim. Every fact in this lesson (15 claims) cites at least one of these.