Brazil Replaces 900 Voting Machines by Noon
BRAZIL · ELECTIONS
Published Sunday, 25 October, 3:03 p.m. ET · Source: Superior Electoral Court (TSE) bulletin
Key Facts
- What happened The Superior Electoral Court (TSE), Brazil’s election authority, replaced 900 electronic voting machines by noon Brasília time (11 a.m. ET) on runoff day.
- The numbers That is 0.18% of 499,248 machines in use, and the court logged 138 incidents.
- Paper ballots No polling section had to switch to paper, said Kassio Nunes Marques, the TSE president.
- Power Index Brazil ranks 1st of 14 in The Rio Times Latin America Power Index, with 75.0 points (October 2026 edition).
- Prediction markets Kalshi, a US prediction market regulated by the CFTC (Commodity Futures Trading Commission), prices a Flávio Bolsonaro win by 1 point or more of valid votes at 75% and a Lula win by 1 point or more at 17% (3:01 p.m. ET, 25 October). Polymarket puts Flávio Bolsonaro’s chance of winning at 79% and Kalshi at 80% (Lula: 22% and 21%), as of 25 October, 3:20 pm ET; prices are bets, not polls.
- Still open The court has not said what caused the replacements or how many follow after noon.
Live tonight
Brazil’s runoff, live
The official TSE count for Flávio Bolsonaro and Lula, updated every 20 minutes from 5 p.m. Brasília (4 p.m. ET).
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The Superior Electoral Court (TSE), Brazil’s election authority, replaced 900 voting machines by noon on Sunday 25 October, 0.18% of the 499,248 in use, according to a TSE bulletin reported by Agência Senado, the Brazilian Senate’s news service. The court also logged 138 incidents during the first hours of the Brazil election 2026 runoff.
Voters choose between President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva and Flávio Bolsonaro, senator for Rio de Janeiro and son of former president Jair Bolsonaro. Polls close at 5 p.m. Brasília time (4 p.m. ET), and the TSE president expects results between 8:30 and 9 p.m. Brasília time (7:30 and 8 p.m. ET).
What the Court Reported by Noon
The TSE said 900 machines were swapped out, and 48,815 spare machines are held in reserve, according to Brasil de Fato, a Brazilian news outlet. The court said no polling section needed manual voting.
Among the 138 incidents, Agência Senado reported 40 attempts to break the secrecy of the vote and three cases of vote buying. Nunes Marques said no section had to use paper ballots.
How This Compares With the Morning
Agência Brasil, the state news agency, said 467 machines had been replaced in the first two hours of voting. The figure then reached 900 by noon Brasília time.
The court did not publish a reason for each replacement. It put the total at 0.18% of machines in use.
What Prediction Markets Say
On Kalshi, a US prediction market regulated by the CFTC, traders price Flávio Bolsonaro winning by at least 1 point of valid votes at 75% and Lula winning by at least 1 point at 17% (3:01 p.m. ET, 25 October). These are bets, not polls.
Why we show this: prediction markets turn real-money bets into a live probability that moves within minutes of the news, which is why investors, campaigns and newsrooms in the United States now follow them closely. We show them next to polls and official results, never instead of them.
Prediction markets · who wins the runoff
Implied chance of winning Brazil’s presidency on 25 October, from traders’ prices.
Polymarket
Flávio Bolsonaro 78.5% · Lula 21.5% (US$199 million traded)
Kalshi (regulated in the US by the CFTC)
Flávio Bolsonaro 80% · Lula 21%
As of 25 October, 3:20 pm ET (19:20 Lisbon), updated every 20 minutes. Prices are bets, not polls, and can move fast.
Why we show this: prediction markets turn real-money bets into a live probability that moves within minutes of the news, which is why investors, campaigns and newsrooms in the United States now follow them closely. We show them next to polls and official results, never instead of them.
What It Means for US Readers
A low replacement rate and no paper-ballot fallbacks point to a smooth vote, which matters to investors holding Brazilian bonds, stocks or US-listed shares of Brazilian companies. Disputes over how the count is run would be a bigger market risk than a few hundred swapped machines.
Results will be announced by the TSE tonight, and our Brazil runoff date and results guide shows where to follow them. Official figures come only from the TSE.
What Is Not Known
The court has not said why the machines were replaced, or how many more were swapped in the afternoon. The TSE publishes updated bulletins through the day, and the final count is not yet available.
Reports of vote buying and secrecy attempts are incident counts, not findings of crime. The court has not said how many will lead to charges.
More: Brazil news in English, every day from The Rio Times.
Frequently Asked Questions
How many voting machines were replaced in Brazil’s runoff?
The TSE said 900 machines were replaced by noon Brasília time on Sunday 25 October. That is 0.18% of the 499,248 machines in use.
What incidents did the TSE report on runoff day?
The court logged 138 incidents by noon, including 40 attempts to violate the secrecy of the vote and three cases of vote buying. It is not yet known how many will lead to charges.
Did any Brazilian polling station use paper ballots?
No. TSE president Kassio Nunes Marques said no polling section needed to vote on paper.
When will Brazil announce the runoff result?
The TSE president expects the result between 8:30 and 9 p.m. Brasília time, which is 7:30 to 8 p.m. ET on Sunday 25 October.
Sources: Agência Senado / TV Senado, 25 October 2026; Brasil de Fato, 25 October 2026; Agência Brasil, 25 October 2026; Kalshi (US prediction market), 25 October 2026.
This article was produced by The Rio Times’ automated newsroom system. How we use AI · Report an error · Editorial responsibility: Matthias Camenzind, Editor-in-Chief