Digital elections are the theme of a series of events at Legal Grounds

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In the context of the elections, recognizing that social networks and other digital communication and access to information tools have proven to be important mechanisms for the political process, the Legal Basis Institute is working with the Embassy to promote the "Brazil Federal Republic of Germany and the Euro-Brazilian Democratic Forum" Digital Elections” series. These online events aim to address issues related to the existing dialogue between the digital environment and electoral law, addressing the challenges posed by new communications technologies.


The first episode of Conyule took place on Friday 29 April and was titled “Challenges of Suffrage in the Digital Age”. Patricia Campos Mello, reporter of Folha de São Paulo, attended the event; Leonardo Sakamoto, political scientist, journalist, PUC professor; Fernando Neisser, electoral district lawyer, Master and PhD in criminal law from the University of the South Pacific; and a doctor. Paulo Gonet, Deputy Attorney General of the Republic and current Attorney General for Elections. The meeting was moderated by Bianca Mollicone, Legal Basis Coordinator, and Ricardo Campos, Legal Basis Director.
Deputy Attorney General Gonet opened the event by reviewing the history of electronic Romania Mobile Number List voting machines in Brazil, drawing parallels between the insecurity of vote counting in past elections and the path of our modern electoral system today. For him, accusations that Brazil's electoral system is prone to fraud and that vote counts could change are unfounded.

He also highlighted the role of the Superior Electoral Court (TSE) in what he sees as progress in Brazilian electoral law. In Gonet's words, "In 26 years, no one has ever been able to change the outcome of Brazil's digital counting process." "Electronic voting machines are safe." For the Deputy Attorney General of the Republic and the Deputy Attorney General of Elections, currently The vote counting system does not have access to the internet, making it impossible to interfere with the results. He concluded his speech by emphasizing and defending the security of Brazil's electoral process and the influence of this model in the world. He emphasized that "electronic voting machines are not a challenge in the field of election law; they are the solution."

Journalist Patricia Campos Mello outlines some of the scenarios that could play out in the 2022 electoral dispute in Brazil. He expressed concerns while addressing the issue of content moderation on digital platforms and its impact on the electoral process. “How will social networks and electoral courts support each other in the fight against disinformation?” the reporter asked, recalling the problem of fake news in the 2018 election.

Another point raised by Patricia, who is currently an associate research scholar at Columbia University (New York), concerns the participation of digital influencers in the electoral process through social networks. "How do you know if an influencer is being paid or receiving benefits?" he asked those present. According to reporters, this issue could pose a problem to the proper electoral process, given the impact an influencer's words and actions can have. threaten. Millions of fans follow them digitally.

"What are the limits of politicians' social networks? How will institutions react when this happens? We don't know," the journalist concluded.

Lawyer Fernando Neisser noted that the electoral court had been slow to notice the change in tactics of those attacking democracy. If a few years ago fake news was a tool used exclusively to attack opponents, in recent years it has begun to target the electoral system itself as a form of delegitimization.

Still, lawyers stressed that over time, the Tokyo Stock Exchange began to make decisions seeking to mitigate attacks on its systems. Furthermore, he emphasized that there are now more feasible ways to combat these attacks, such as canceling candidates who violate the electoral system. However, he highlighted another major challenge: disseminating effective methods of collecting and integrating evidence to conduct these processes.



Finally, Neisser stressed that electoral courts must be careful when using their revocation powers. While it has proven to be a viable strategy in combating attacks on democratic structures, given its severity, it can only be used in proportion to the criminal conduct.

Journalist Leonardo Sakamoto agrees with Neisser, who also believes there is a positive evolution in the way institutions and society respond to the ongoing attacks on the electoral system. However, he warned that opponents have also adapted and adopted new tactics to spread fake news and offend institutions.

The researchers also emphasized that combined with this situation, the 2022 elections face another major challenge: extreme polarization, which will create a scenario of political war. At worst, there's the possibility of ending up with a situation like the one at the U.S. Capitol.