Understanding the cyber attack on Brazil’s electoral system

For about 14 years, the legitimacy of the Brazilian electronic voting system — fully implemented in 2000 — was never called into doubt. From pretty much every angle, the system was considered a success: it made voting easier for people with difficulties to read and write (as candidates are assigned numbers instead of names), it made vote counts quicker, and it prevented fraud. Just six years prior to the introduction of electronic voting, Rio de Janeiro had to stage a do-over of its congressional races after it was proven that gangs tampered with ballots in order to get their candidates elected.

However, doubts about the system went mainstream in 2014, when center-right candidate Aécio Neves lost a tight presidential race and called foul play. In a move to discredit the election, the Brazilian Social Democracy Party (PSDB) started championing a bill to bring paper ballots back — which had been proposed by a then-obscure congressman, named Jair Bolsonaro.

Once in power, Mr. Bolsonaro and his political clan have done everything in their power to challenge the legitimacy of the electronic voting system, even claiming that the 2018 election — which he won — was defrauded. Now, with 2020’s municipal election marred by hacks of government systems, Brazil’s First Family seeks to capitalize on the uncertainty.

On Sunday, after having gloated about their speedy and efficient vote counting system, Brazil’s municipal elections were riddled with problems.

Technical problems in the vote...