Almost one million Brazilians abroad are eligible to vote in the 2026 elections

Almost one million Brazilians who live in other countries are eligible to vote in this year's elections. The number is greater than the total number of voters in states such as Amapá and Acre.

➡️Even abroad, voting is mandatory for Brazilians aged between 18 and 70 years old. Anyone who does not attend must justify their absence.

➡️For those outside the country, it is only possible to vote for President of the Republic.

The sending of ballot boxes to the 134 countries where there are Brazilian polling stations is coordinated by the Regional Electoral Court of the Federal District (TRE-DF), with support from Itamaraty.

💡TRE-DF is responsible for the Foreign Electoral Zone (ZZ). In other words, in addition to organizing the electoral process in the capital, the Court also conducts the election outside Brazil in partnership with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MRE).

Preparations begin months before the vote and involve diplomatic negotiations, in addition to extensive logistical mapping (see video above).

Tight deadline

The ballot boxes are prepared as soon as the Electoral Court's deadline for judging candidacies in regional courts ends. This year, the date was September 14th.

In other words: with less than three weeks until the first shift this Sunday (4), the equipment began to be assembled for shipping abroad.

The process is the same as that carried out with the ballot boxes that are located in Brazil -- the difference is that they only receive candidacies for the presidency of the Republic (without candidates for governor, senator and deputy).

Media with candidate information is generated and loaded into each device. The urn undergoes a "self-test" and is then sealed for shipping.

The deadline is short. The Secretary of Information and Communication Technology at TRE-DF, Andrey Bernardes, explains that the court prioritizes, in the queue, the ballot boxes from countries with a large contingent of voters.

"On the 16th [September], we started generating media from abroad. And we took the opportunity, in the afternoon, to start loading some ballot boxes. We gave preference to loading ballot boxes from the United States, Portugal and Japan, since half of our audience is in those countries", says Andrey.

Each ballot box is registered in the system with a unique number, which identifies it and guarantees the traceability of the results.

The equipment was sent to Itamaraty on the 18th and sent to the countries from the airports of Viracopos, in Campinas (SP), and Guarulhos, in the capital of São Paulo.

Electronic voting machines destined for abroad undergo a loading and sealing process — Photo: TV Globo

Voting numbers abroad

918,911 voters

1,361 polling stations mapped — of these, 28 stations vote by ballot and 41 will not be installed in 2026

1,407 electronic voting machines

134 countries

➡️ For a section to be installed, it is necessary to have at least 30 eligible voters.

➡️If the number of eligible voters does not reach 100, that section receives canvas ballot boxes and paper ballots, instead of the electronic ballot box.

And the poll workers?

As in Brazil, poll workers are registered voluntarily.

For Brazilian employees who are teleworking abroad and were recruited as poll workers, the national rule applies: two days off for each day of work in the election.

If the Brazilian is subject to the labor legislation of the other country, however, the Electoral Court cannot guarantee the benefit.

In these cases, according to the head of the Foreign Electoral Zone, Eduardo Pessoa, the TRE is still looking for an alternative to compensate for the good deed.

"The volunteer really works in favor of the Brazilian electoral process. It is this feeling of belonging and welcome that the electoral process brings to those who are currently outside Brazil. We are studying the possibility of extending these benefits, together with the MRE team, for the next election in 2030", he says.

Vote in conflict zones

Even in countries facing wars or local conflicts, the Electoral Court has managed to guarantee the right to vote for Brazilians – in regions further away from the front, of course.

According to TRE-DF, there are currently around 40 electoral zones in cities that face instability, but do not present an immediate risk, such as:

Tehran, capital of Iran;

Tel Aviv, capital of Israel;

Beirut, capital of Lebanon;

Kiev, capital of Ukraine.

Cuba, which has been experiencing instability in the electricity grid and is facing national blackouts, will also have voting locations for Brazilians residing in the country.

"It's not just conflict zones, there are sensitive [voting] areas in general. However, in these places, the MRE assured that there will be voting and there will be no risk for the Brazilian electorate, says Eduardo Pessoa.

29 hours of voting

According to Brasília time, the election begins on Saturday (3), in New Zealand, and only ends on Sunday night (4), in Canada.

Due to time zones, voting abroad takes more than 29 hours: it goes from 4pm on Saturday to 9pm on Sunday, always Brasília time.

In the national territory, voting will take place from 8 am to 5 pm, again according to Brasília time. In other words: states with different time zones will follow different local times.

Ballots begin to be counted in the system as soon as voting closes in local time. And they are printed and posted on the door of the voting station, as happens in Brazil.

Therefore, in the early hours of Saturday, the first results will be transmitted – and may even be announced by residents of the region. The TSE, however, only starts publishing official results when voting ends in Brazil, at 5pm on Sunday.

"Voters vote at their local time, from 8 am to 5 pm. The zeroth prints at 7am. So, in Wellington, New Zealand, the zerésima is printed at 3pm on Saturday Brasília time. The election starts at 8am, it's 4pm on Saturday here. They hold the election and, at around 2am or 2:30am, they start transmitting results", explains Andrey Bernardes.

🔎 The zeroth is the official report issued before voting begins at each polling station. The document that proves that the electronic ballot box has not yet received any votes.

Read more news about the region on g1 DF.