Opposition wins again, e-voting approved for São Paulo elections | OneFootball

São Paulo’s Deliberative Council approved, by an overwhelming majority, the implementation of electronic voting for the institution’s electoral processes. The measure was proposed and championed by council members opposed to the current administration, but it faced no resistance from the ruling group.

In the vote held by the collegiate body, the proposal received 197 votes in favor, 11 abstentions, and only one against, cementing an important statutory and operational change in the club’s political system.

With the measure approved, the new format will already be adopted in the election scheduled for the end of this year, which will determine the 100 new seats on Tricolor’s council.

According to the approved guidelines, the voting process will use official electronic voting machines loaned by the Superior Electoral Court (TSE) or, alternatively, an equivalent technological system that fully meets the same security, auditability, and encryption requirements demanded by Brazil’s Electoral Court.

Important change

The debate stems from a formal request submitted by a group of members, which gathered more than 120 signatures — the statutory quorum required to force the collegiate body to consider the matter. The movement was led by the opposition political group Nova Era Tricolor.

The core of the proposal lies in expanding and making mandatory the use of electronic voting at the club. Although the digital format is already provided for in specific scenarios, São Paulo’s predominant model is still based on physical paper ballots.

The current voting model has long been the target of criticism because of its operational dynamics.

In elections for the Deliberative Council, held every three years, voters must select up to 20 names from a list of approximately 200 candidates.

Because manual completion is time-consuming, the practice of the “cheat sheet” has become established at the club: slates and political factions distribute pre-filled ballots to members, who simply place them in the ballot boxes.

Opponents of the system argue that the method compromises ballot secrecy and opens the door to political pressure resembling coercive bloc voting.

Details of the proposal and auditing

The new proposal provides for the implementation of individual voting booths with electronic screens displaying the candidate’s name and photograph before the vote is confirmed. The text also establishes auditing and oversight mechanisms accessible to all competing slates.

Printed ballots would not be eliminated, but restricted to exceptional contingencies, such as widespread technical failures or power outages. Even in these exceptional cases, the proposal suggests stricter controls, requiring that the physical ballot be handed out strictly inside the voting booth, curbing the circulation of pre-filled lists.

This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇧🇷 here.