Brazil's top electoral judge defends electronic voting system

Kassio Nunes Marques, president of Brazil's Superior Electoral Court (TSE), publicly defended the nation's electronic voting system, calling the electronic ballot boxes a "heritage of Brazilian democracy." His statement was made during the opening of the court's second semester and amidst persistent attacks on the electoral process.

"The objective is to broaden society's knowledge about the various stages of the electoral process and reaffirm, through transparency, qualified information, and citizen participation, the robustness, auditability, and permanent technological evolution of a system that constitutes heritage of Brazilian democracy," Marques stated. He announced the launch of the National Electronic Voting System Week, an event featuring public demonstrations of the voting equipment and educational activities across the country.

The defense of the electronic voting system by the TSE president comes after some ministers reportedly pressured him to speak out. There were complaints within the court that Marques had not publicly addressed misinformation about the voting machines, particularly after Senator Flávio Bolsonaro spread false claims. While the minister's team had previously debunked these claims, a public statement from the TSE president was seen as necessary to bolster confidence in the system.

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The objective is to broaden society's knowledge about the various stages of the electoral process and reaffirm, through transparency, qualified information, and citizen participation, the robustness, auditability, and permanent technological evolution of a system that constitutes heritage of Brazilian democracy.