Brazil Votes After Top Judge Warns Against Election Disinformation
BRAZIL · ELECTIONS 2026
Key Facts
- —The country Brazil, Latin America’s largest democracy, has 158.7 million registered voters choosing a president, Congress and governors today.
- —The background The campaign’s final weeks brought court fights over false posts, including a fake claim about Brazil’s patron saint.
- —Who spoke Kassio Nunes Marques presides over the TSE, the court that runs Brazilian elections, and also sits on the Supreme Court.
- —What happened In a national radio and TV address on Saturday 3 October, he urged Brazilians to check information before sharing it.
- —The warning He said threats, harassment or any interference with a voter’s choice would be promptly suppressed.
- —What it means for you If a claim about the vote reaches you today, the court asks you to check its official channels first.
- —Still open Whether false claims about the count spread tonight, as results arrive after polls close at 17:00 Brasília time.
Brazilians are voting today after a last-minute appeal against election disinformation from the country’s top election judge. In a national radio and TV address on Saturday night, 3 October, Kassio Nunes Marques asked voters to check before sharing.
Nunes Marques presides over the TSE, the Superior Electoral Court that runs Brazilian elections, and also sits on the Supreme Court. His five-minute message also defended the electronic voting machine and warned candidates against pressuring voters.
What He Said About False Information
The address went out at 20:30 Brasília time on national radio and television, O Tempo reported. Its central request on false information was aimed at ordinary voters rather than at platforms.
“I also ask every Brazilian to commit to the quality of the information circulating at this moment,” he said, according to Metrópoles. “If in doubt, turn to the official channels of the Electoral Justice.”
He added a line that summed up the court’s approach to election disinformation. “Checking before sharing is a simple and effective step that is within everyone’s reach.”
The address named no specific false story and no campaign. It came at the end of a race in which courts repeatedly ordered posts removed, and those orders were themselves disputed.
A Defence of the Voting Machine
A large part of the message defended Brazil’s electronic voting machine, used nationwide for decades. “The electronic voting machine, part of Brazil’s democratic experience for 30 years, will once again guarantee this right,” he said.
He called the system one that “is updated at every election” and combines security, transparency and auditability mechanisms “unique in the world”. The TSE plans to use 563,910 machines this year.
The machines have long been a political target: in 2023 the TSE barred former president Jair Bolsonaro from office for eight years. The reason was a 2022 meeting where he cast doubt on them before foreign ambassadors.
Nunes Marques was appointed to the Supreme Court by Bolsonaro in 2020, Metrópoles noted. On Saturday he backed the machines without reservation.
A Warning to Candidates
He then turned to the people on the ballot. “Tomorrow is the day of freedom to vote,” he said, in a direct call to candidates.
“Threats, harassment or any attempt to interfere with the voter’s will, in any form, will be promptly suppressed,” he warned. In Brazil, electoral harassment often means employers pressuring their staff over how to vote.
He closed the point by stressing that “the decision belongs exclusively to those who vote”, O Tempo reported. He paired it with his appeal on election disinformation, presenting both as threats to a free choice.
Practical Advice for Today’s Voters
Beyond election disinformation, the judge gave voters practical instructions, Correio Braziliense reported. The court recommends that voters bring the numbers of their chosen candidates written on paper.
Phones, cameras and other devices are banned inside the voting booth, to protect the secrecy of the vote. Each voter enters six choices: federal deputy, state deputy, two senators, governor and president.
He highlighted Seu Voto Importa, or Your Vote Matters, a programme that helps people with disabilities and remote communities reach polling stations. When each section closes, its last two voters receive a printed copy of the results with a QR code.
A Campaign Fought Partly in Court
The warning follows weeks of legal battles over online content. In late September, a false claim about Brazil’s patron saint, aimed at Lula’s rival Flávio Bolsonaro, neared a million posts.
Judges then split over how far to go in removing such posts. On 27 September one Supreme Court justice voided a colleague’s takedown order against a comedian’s post.
That case pitted a justice appointed by Lula against one appointed by Bolsonaro. It showed how contested the courts’ role in policing election disinformation has become.
What Comes Next
Polls close at 17:00 Brasília time, 20:00 UTC, and the first results arrive within hours. This guide to tonight’s count explains where to follow them.
The TSE publishes results on its website and apps, and asks voters to rely on them. One app, BU na Mão, lets voters check the printed tallies, O Tempo reported.
The warning does not mean the court has detected a specific threat to today’s vote. It was a general appeal on election disinformation, broadcast on the eve of the vote.
For the wider picture of what is at stake, see this guide to Sunday’s vote.
More: Latin America news in English, every day from The Rio Times.
Who is Kassio Nunes Marques?
He is a justice of Brazil’s Supreme Court, appointed by Jair Bolsonaro in 2020. He also presides over the TSE, the Superior Electoral Court, which organises and polices elections.
What did he ask voters to do?
He asked Brazilians to check information before sharing it and to use the electoral court’s official channels when in doubt. It was a general warning against election disinformation on the eve of the vote.
Can voters take a phone into the booth in Brazil?
No. Phones, cameras and other communication devices are banned inside the voting booth to protect the secrecy of the vote.
When will Brazil’s results be known?
Polls close at 17:00 Brasília time, 20:00 UTC. Electronic voting makes counting fast, and most results usually arrive the same night.
Sources: Metrópoles, 3 October 2026; O Tempo, 3 October 2026; Correio Braziliense, 3 October 2026; Poder360, 3 October 2026; Olhar Digital, 3 October 2026.
This article was drafted with automated assistance and reviewed before publication. How we use AI · Report an error · Editorial responsibility: Matthias Camenzind, Editor-in-Chief