A tennis match and a group of ‘ninjas’: how the electronic ballot box used in elections was developed and which turns 30
The idea arose in a conversation between the then president of the TSE and a computer technician; The project brought together engineers and researchers from institutions in São José dos Campos and gave rise to the ballot box used in Brazilian elections.
The electronic voting machine completes 30 years of official use in Brazilian elections in 2026. The system speeds up vote counting and reduces fraud in the country.
The project began in 1995 after a conversation between minister Carlos Velloso and Paulo Camarão. A group of engineers known as "ninjas" developed the equipment.
Technology institutions from São José dos Campos, such as Inpe and ITA, participated directly in the development of the ballot box's hardware and software.
The first version of the device was used in 1996 with just 2 megabytes of memory. Currently, security is reinforced with encryption and digital signatures.
The Brazilian experience with electronic voting also went beyond borders. At least 33 countries have already used systems inspired by the model developed by Brazil.
The year was 1995. In Brasília, a conversation during a tennis match helped start one of the biggest transformations of Brazilian elections.
The then president of the Superior Electoral Court (TSE), minister Carlos Velloso, spoke with computer technician Paulo Camarão about the possibility of computerizing voting in the country.
The idea quickly left the court and ended up at the TSE. To turn the project into reality, the Electoral Court brought together experts from different areas. Among them, a group of engineers and technicians who became known as the “ninjas”.
The team was responsible for transforming the initial ideas into a hardware and software project and establishing the requirements for the new machine. In December 1995, the TSE published the notice for the production of the equipment and, in March 1996, the Brazilian company Unisys won the bid.
A few months later, the electronic voting machine debuted in the 1996 municipal elections. Around 30% of the electorate voted for the new system in that first election. The implementation was gradually expanded and, today, the technology is used in all Brazilian municipalities.
The "ninjas" 🥷
The group of "ninjas" was coordinated by Paulo Camarão and brought together professionals such as Paulo Nakaya, Mauro Hashioka, Antônio Ésio Salgado, “Toné”, Oswaldo Catsumi and Giuseppe Janino.
Representatives of institutions and bodies linked to technology and defense also participated, including the National Institute for Space Research (Inpe).
Part of this story goes through São José dos Campos, where institutions such as Inpe, the Aeronautical Technological Institute (ITA), the then Aerospace Technical Center (CTA) and the Institute of Advanced Studies (IEAv) were located.
According to TRE-SP, the technical group met twice a week, at the TSE or at TRE-SP itself, to present the work and exchange knowledge about the project.
Before the ballot box, the vote was on paper
The change proposed by the TSE had two main objectives: to reduce problems and possibilities of fraud related to voting and manual counting and to speed up the dissemination of results.
Before the electronic voting machine, voters voted using paper ballots. After voting closed, votes had to be counted manually. The process could take days and involved a major operation of checking and counting votes.
With the electronic ballot box, the registration of votes began to be done digitally and the count could be completed within a few hours after the polling stations closed.
For political scientist José Maurício Cardoso do Rego, the change also helped to reduce traditional fraud mechanisms linked to manual counting. “With the implementation of electronic voting machines, there is a clear inhibition of this fraud process,” he stated.
From 2 MB to current models
The first version, UE96, had just 2 megabytes of memory and used floppy disks for data storage and transfer. In the 1996 elections, around 30% of the electorate voted electronically.
The implementation was gradually expanded and today the ballot box is used in all Brazilian municipalities.
In 30 years, the equipment has undergone several updates. It currently has mechanisms such as digital signatures, encryption and verification systems developed by the Electoral Court.
The TSE also carries out the Public Security Test (TPS), in which experts are invited to try to identify vulnerabilities in electoral systems.
From 1990s technology to current equipment
In three decades, the electronic voting machine has undergone several changes. Current equipment has security features that did not exist in the first models, including digital signatures, encryption and own verification mechanisms developed by the Electoral Court.
Security is also tested before the elections. The Superior Electoral Court periodically carries out the Public Security Test (TPS), which brings together experts to try to identify vulnerabilities in the systems and equipment used in the electoral process.
The logic is to put protection mechanisms to the test before they are used by voters. According to the professionals who participated in the creation of the urn, concerns about safety already existed since the first prototypes.
São José dos Campos in the history of the urn
São José dos Campos's participation in this story is linked to the city's technological profile. Institutions such as Inpe, ITA, CTA and IEAv concentrated researchers and engineers involved in highly complex projects.
This knowledge ended up being incorporated into the development of the electronic voting machine, in a collaboration between different areas and institutions. The history of the ballot box, therefore, is also part of the technological history of the Paraíba Valley.
Three decades later
In 2026, the electronic voting machine will complete three decades of official use in Brazil. During this period, technology stopped being a novelty and became part of the routine of Brazilian elections.
The Brazilian experience also went beyond the country's borders. According to data cited by researchers involved in the project, at least 33 countries have already used some electronic voting model inspired by or related to the Brazilian experience.
