Accounts Court audit confirms the reliability of Brazil’s voting system

The Federal Accounts Court concluded its audit of data from electronic voting machines. It took over 5.8 million votes published in printed receipts from over 4,100 voting machines, cross-checking them with the results of the October 2 first round. The result showed no discrepancies.

Bruno Dantas, the head of the court, published the findings on Sunday morning, as polls open for the runoff elections for president and 12 state governorships. The Federal Accounts Court’s official website published a panel with the data for public consultation.

President Jair Bolsonaro has for years cast doubt on the integrity of Brazil’s electronic voting system, claiming that the machines could be rigged (but offering no evidence to back his claims).

Attacks on the electronic system lost steam after Mr. Bolsonaro enjoyed a better-than-expected result in the first round – he got 43.2 percent of valid votes, just five points behind former President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva.

On Thursday, Mr. Dantas had already presented a partial result of the audit to the electoral court Chief Justice Alexandre de Moraes, and to observers from the Organization of American States who are monitoring the election.

“They were delighted and considered it to be a huge boost to transparency. And it makes it very clear to the population not only that the polls are auditable, but that the audit is also being carried out and the results are visible to everyone,” he told journalists on Friday.

The Armed Forces are also carrying out a parallel and unofficial audit of the vote, despite having no constitutional mandate to do so. It should only publish its findings after the second round — and many observers fear they could be used to help Mr. Bolsonaro challenge the results should he lose the presidency to Lula.

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