Party leaders argue that the electoral system is reliable and that changing the rules of the game at this stage can create uncertainty in the process. In recent months, the High Electoral Court (TSE) has also protected the fairness of the process (see below for details).

The meeting was held via videoconferencing. The meeting was attended by the presidents:

• Ciro Nogueira, from PP;
• ACM Neto, from DEM;
• Waldemar Costa Neto, from Poland;
• Marcos Pereira, for the Republicans;
• Paulo Pereira da Silva from Solidarity;
• Luciano Bivar from PSL;
• Roberto Freire, citizen citizen;
• Keith Rossi from MDB;
• Gilberto Cassab, from PSD;
• Bruno Araujo, PSDB Representative;
• and Luis Tibe of Avante.

“We, these eleven parties, understood that a collective movement was needed to give a clear sign of confidence in the current electoral system. We are fully confident that Brazil has one of the most modern electoral systems in the world. One thing that works so well, why move? “, – said the president of DEM, ACM Neto, G1…

According to the politician, the alliance between the parties represents “the protection of the security of the electoral system” and is an action that is not directed “against anyone”, but rather “in favor of the system.”

“Even because there are parties that belong to the presidential base. It’s not against it, it’s in favor of the system. This movement makes it very difficult to amend the legislation, ”he said.

In a different tone, Citizenship President Roberto Freire said that the introduction of print voting in the country would be “anachronistic” and that electronic voting machines are subject to audit.

“You can follow the electoral process, you can conduct an audit – you need more transparency in the Supreme Electoral Court and the participation of parties,” he said.

“There are ways to check, it is a mistake to say that there are none. Printed voting results only serve to alleviate this kind of distrust of allegations of fraud and creating a problem, ”said Freire.

The politician also called this measure a protection of democracy and said that the group intends to invite other parties to join the group’s position.

“This is the answer that we do not want an immediate invasion of the country’s capital. We are already saying, “Nobody is going to invent this,” and that everything that has to do with print voting as a place is sought is aimed at creating what has been raised in the United States. This is a clear attempt to strike at democracy, ”Freire said.

The President of the Supreme Electoral Court, Minister Luis Roberto Barroso, said he was “pleased” to have attended 11 parties in support of the current voting and auditing system.

“As I said from the beginning, this is a political issue and the right place for discussion is the National Congress. At TSE, we work to highlight the risks of privacy breaches, fraud and misunderstandings that print voting can bring. I welcome the manifestation of the parties and remain ready to demonstrate the security, transparency and auditability of the Brazilian e-voting system, ”said Barroso.

Together, the 11 abbreviations that participated in the meeting unite 326 out of 513 deputies, that is, 63.5% of the plenary.

Even with internal disagreements over acronyms, the number indicates that Jair Bolsonaro’s government should face difficulties in approving the adoption of a print vote in the 2022 elections.

The printout of the votes is facilitated by President Jair Bolsonaro, who usually raises suspicions of fraud in connection with electronic voting. However, Bolsonaro never provided evidence of any wrongdoing.

This issue is being discussed in the House as part of the Constitutional Amendment Proposal (PEC) – and for this reason, in order to follow the analysis of the Senate, it is necessary that 308 MPs vote for it in two rounds.

For the changes to take effect in the next election, they must be in place by October of this year. This is due to the fact that the Federal Constitution prohibits changing the rules for holding elections if there is less than a year left until voting day.

The PEC has already been approved by the Chamber’s Constitution and Justice Committee (CCJ), which does not analyze the merits (content) of the text, but the formal adequacy of the proposal. A special commission to discuss the content of the PEC was established on 13 May.

In June 2018, the STF ruled (provisionally) to ban this measure. The understanding was confirmed in 2020 in a virtual plenary trial, in which the voting results were declared unconstitutional.

“Safe, transparent and verifiable”

The President of the Supreme Electoral Court (TSE), Luis Roberto Barroso, told a group of MPs last Monday (21) that elections in Brazil are “safe, transparent and verifiable.”

Barroso met with forensic technicians and parliamentarians who are on the Chamber of Deputies committee that discusses the conduct of print voting. “This working session is designed to demonstrate that elections in Brazil are safe, transparent and verifiable,” Barroso said.

“This is not to change the beliefs and political commitments of each of them. This is just a meeting for transparency to demonstrate that everything here is done in an open and controlled manner, ”he added.