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The 2022 elections are coming! Less than 1 month away for the great exercise of democracy, we take the opportunity to explain how the Electronic Ballot Box and its security system works
It has finally arrived: 2022, the year of elections. Of the elections and the World Cup, of course. And among all the subjects that surround this theme, the one that is always involved in controversy is the famous electronic ballot box. After all, why is the electronic voting machine so debated?
Created in 1995 and used in the following 12 elections, the electronic ballot box remains irreplaceable. Currently, around 147 million voters use the electronic system to exercise citizenship through voting.
Well, the fact is that even so, the voting machine has its detractors. That's why we decided to write this article to explain how the electronic ballot box works, the history of the ballot box in the Brazilian elections and how the 2022 election will be. Finally, you will be able to decide whether the controversy is fair or not. Good reading!
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History of the electronic ballot box in Brazil
The electronic ballot box project was developed by the TSE and is completely national, customized according to the characteristics of the Brazilian voter, that is, intuitive to make it easier when voting.
In the first computerized election, in 1996, more than 32 million Brazilians voted in more than 78 thousand electronic ballot boxes. Since then, the Electoral Justice has also acquired ballot boxes in the years 1998, 2000, 2002, 2004, 2006, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2013, 2015 and 2020.
In 2008, biometrics began to be adopted in some locations and, by July 2020, more than 119 million voters had their fingerprints registered.
Therefore, as we can see, the electronic ballot box is a relevant part of the Brazilian electoral process and the achievement of order and legitimacy in the conduct of elections.
How does the electronic ballot box work?
With so many years of existence, millions of votes cast and without presenting any failure or fraud that could compromise the voting results, the electronic voting machine is nothing more than a supercomputer.
To start explaining how the electronic ballot box works, we point out that the ballot box is not connected to the internet, neither via Wi-Fi nor via optical fiber, and therefore, during the voting, there is no possibility of invasion.
At the end of the polls, the votes are shuffled, encrypted and stored on a card sent to the electoral board. From there, the data are sent, through an exclusive network, to the TREs, who check whether they came from an official ballot box and pass them on to the TSE, which totals and publishes the results.
There are several mechanisms used to ensure data security: the main ones are cryptography (technology that hides data) and secret security keys (which decrypt encrypted data). In addition, the ballot box records all events that occur during voting (time it was turned on, moment of each vote, any breakdown, disconnection, removal of data, etc.).
Audit and Security
The ballot box was created not only to speed up the calculation, but with the main objective of eliminating fraud that occurred in the manual counting of paper ballots. Therefore, it is natural to assume that security is the fundamental factor for the use of electronic ballot boxes. And among the various mechanisms used by the TSE, one of the main ones is the TPS.
The Public Safety Test (TPS) is an Electoral Justice event and was created precisely to monitor the electronic voting process. Held preferably in the year before the elections, it relies on the participation and collaboration of specialists in the search for problems or weaknesses that, once identified, will be resolved – and tested – before the elections are held.
The last TPS was held in November 2021. Access is free for various institutions and any Brazilian citizen.
Main features of electronic voting machines
It is important to remember some characteristics of the electronic voting machines, to combat fake news: The electronic voting machines do not connect to any type of network, internet or bluetooth; They use cryptography, digital signature and summary, ensuring that only the system and programs developed by the TSE and certified by the Electoral Justice (JE) are executed on the equipment; Possibility of auditing the ballot boxes, before, during and after the vote, by the parties and supervisory institutions and by society in general; Printout of the zero (proof that shows that, at the beginning of the voting, there is no vote registered in the ballot box for any candidacy); The ballot boxes also have the Digital Vote Record (RDV). In it, the information about the votes is shuffled in a table that ensures the secrecy of the vote;
According to information from the TSE in 2021, Brazil has an electronic park of 577.125 pieces of equipment.
How will the 2022 elections be?
You should already be well informed about the 2022 elections, but it doesn't hurt to remember.
The 1st round of elections will be on 02/10/2022, Sunday. And, if there is a 2nd shift, this will be held on 30/10/2022, also Sunday. Remembering that Election Day is a holiday.
In the 2022 elections, Brazilians will vote for the positions of president and vice-president of the Republic, governor and vice-governor of the state and the Federal District, senator (one vacancy), federal, state and district deputy.
It is important to note that in the 2022 elections, the use of cell phones in the polling booth, whether turned off or not, is prohibited. Stay tuned!
What's New for 2022
The electronic ballot boxes that will be used in the 2022 elections were produced in Manaus (AM) by Positivo Tecnologia, winner of the tender that manufactured 225 new ballot boxes, out of a total of 577 that will be used in the 2022 elections.
More modern, the Model UE2020 ballot boxes bring new features for accessibility and innovations in terms of security, transparency and agility. Production was focused on urn motherboards. Remembering that each phase of equipment production was accompanied by the Electoral Technology Coordination (Cotel) team of the TSE Information Technology Secretariat. Another novelty is that the TSE launched the voting simulator in the electronic ballot box! Through the agency's website, voters can practice the voting sequence that will be adopted in the October elections.
And you, reader, are you preparing to exercise your right in the 2022 elections? There is still time to study the candidates and make your vote count.
Source: https://comparaepoupa.com.br/blog/como-funciona-urna-eletronica/
