Brazil: Armed Forces urge Electoral Court to improve electronic ballot boxes for 2022 presidential election

RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – The Armed Forces dispatched a technical team specializing in cybersecurity to the TSE on Friday, January 28 to request clarifications on all processes related to the transparency and security of electronic ballot boxes.

A specialized team from the Armed Forces met with members of the TSE on December 2 to discuss the electronic voting process and the security of electronic ballot boxes in Brazil. On December 14, the same team sent a secret document to the TSE calling for the improvement of electronic ballot boxes for the 2022 elections.

However, the Armed Forces Technical Team stated that the TSE had not yet responded to its questions and suggestions and had failed to provide the documents the team requested.

The lack of a response prompted the Armed Forces to reiterate its demand last Friday. President Jair Bolsonaro has twice this month ordered the TSE to respond to the Armed Forces.

The TSE published a note saying that it was still in recess, but that the matter would be presented to the Court chief as soon as judicial activity resumed.

“We reiterate that the Armed Forces, as well as the other agencies involved in the commission, have the prerogative to ask the TSE for further clarification on the election process and to schedule technical meetings with the Court,” the Electoral Court said in a statement.