The Regional Electoral Court of Rio de Janeiro (TRE-RJ) expects to collect biometric data from approximately 1.8 million voters during voting in the first round of municipal elections, next Sunday (6). These are people who have not yet registered their biometrics with the Electoral Court, but will be able to vote with fingerprint identification.
This means that, at the moment the voter identifies himself to vote, poll workers will consult the voting book whether there is an indication of biometrics provided by an associated body, notably the State Department of Traffic (Detran), responsible for issuing the Identity Card National.
The general director of TRE-RJ, Eline Íris, speaks during a press conference, at the Regional Electoral Court of Rio de Janeiro (TRE-RJ), about the municipal elections. Photo: Tânia Rêgo/Agência Brasil
Voters who have their data imported and validated will have the information passed on to the electoral register. The general director of TRE-RJ, Eline Iris Rabello Garcia da Silva, explains that searching third-party databases has the practical effect of saving voters time.
“It prevents voters from going to the electoral registry later”, he said, during a meeting between TRE-RJ and journalists this Tuesday (1st), at the Palácio da Democracia, the court’s new headquarters, which is located in a historic building in the Center of Rio de Janeiro. Rio de Janeiro.
Currently, more than 8.8 million voters in Rio have their fingerprints registered, which represents 67.66% of the population of citizens eligible to vote in the state. With the addition of 1.8 million, the proportion will rise to 80%.
Data import has been carried out since 2018 by TRE-RJ. In the last election, in 2022, the validation process caused huge queueswhich forced voting hours to be extended.
Next Sunday, the procedure for importing biometric data can be repeated up to four times in cases of fingerprints not initially recognized.
Promise of fewer queues
TRE-RJ’s Secretary of Information Technology, Michel Kovacs, speaks during a press conference, at the Regional Electoral Court of Rio de Janeiro (TRE-RJ), about the municipal elections. Photo: Tânia Rêgo/Agência Brasil
According to TER-RJ’s Secretary of Information Technology (IT), Michel Kovacs, the chances of having queues are lower, as 75.6% of the ballot boxes used will be the most modern models, created from 2020 onwards.
“We have some newer ballot box models, a more renovated park, they have faster biometric reading, so I hope we have less of a queue at the end of voting”, he highlighted.
The general director of TRE adds that in Sunday’s election will be just two votesfor mayor and councilor, unlike the 1st round of 2022, when there was a choice for president, governor, senator, federal and state deputies.
“The expectation is that it will end smoothly, without this delay in voting, that by 5 pm, in fact, we will be able to close the vote and begin the counting”, he states.
TRE-RJ believes that the elected candidates will already be known by midnight. “Some delay regarding logistics, because there is a more distant municipality that has to forward the media, it is normal, it is part of the process. But we are hoping that this investigation will be quick and uneventful”, predicts Eline Iris.
Voters who have biometrics imported from other bodies will be notified of the procedure. Kovacs also adds that voters who vote with biometrics do not need to sign the voting book. “It’s optional,” he says.
The IT secretary remembers that, with more modern electronic voting machines, there should be less need to change equipment due to failures. In the 2022 election, the percentage of ballot boxes that needed to be changed was 3% and 1.6% in the first and second rounds, respectively.
“There is an expectation that it will decrease in this election. We are renovating the ballot box park”, hopes Kovacs. There will be 41,792 units available to voters.
New polling place
In the 92 municipalities of the state of Rio, 13,033,929 people are eligible to vote. There are 4,974 voting locations.
This year, around 1 million voters had their voting addresses changed for engineering, logistics, accessibility and security reasons.
There were a total of 444 locations, 53 of which were for security reasons. To a large extent, the explanation is related to the territory dominated by organized crime and which requires concentration of effort from the police to transport the ballot boxes, for example, with armored vehicles.
The general director of TRE-RJ reinforces the request for voters to check the voting location in advance. Consultation can be done via the e-Título application (which can only be downloaded until the day before the election, the 5th), the court website (tre-rj.jus.br) or by Dial TRE-RJ, on the phone number (21) 3436-9000.
Free transportation
Public transport will be free throughout the state of Rio de Janeiro on election days. According to TRE-RJ, the suspension of fare collection will apply to all modes: municipal and intercity buses, trains, ferries, BRT (express buses) and Light Rail Vehicles (VLT). In the case of the capital, also includes vans.
The measure is a determination of the Federal Supreme Court (STF), regulated by the Superior Electoral Court (TSE).
“The idea is that any obstacle due to economic issues or distance is eliminated, so that the voter can exercise citizenship”, explains Eline Iris. According to the general director, for financial reasons, some voters could believe that it would be more advantageous to pay the fine for not voting, of R$ 3.51, than to pay for transport.
The standard also establishes that transport is offered with a frequency compatible with working days.
