TSE organizes special operation for the first round of elections

The TSE (Superior Electoral Court) reaches the first round of elections, this Sunday (4), with an operation aimed at responding to risks already registered in previous elections and new threats identified in the final stretch of the current election.

There is everything from a room reserved for big techs to combat misinformation to servers deployed to monitor the climate situation in the most critical regions of the country, in addition to a court agreement with the PRF (Federal Highway Police) against roadblocks like those that occurred in 2022.

Last Thursday (2), fear grew among members of the court about the possibility of attempts at foreign pressure or interference in Brazilian elections, including cyber attacks. Behind the scenes of the court, tension has escalated and there is greater attention focused on the issue.

To interlocutors, however, President Kassio Nunes Marques stated that there is, so far, no reason for greater alert. In dialogue with security bodies, the TSE leadership has been provided with intelligence information on digital security and possible attacks.

The polls will close at 5 pm or at times when the lines formed by those who arrived at the sessions before that time are closed. There is no prediction of when the results of the total votes will be announced.

Until then, the operation organized by the court involves different areas. One of the structures that will be in operation is the misinformation risk monitoring room, a space that will bring together representatives of digital platforms operating in Brazil.

Of the companies that signed partnerships with the TSE, only LinkedIn did not confirm its presence in the court's headquarters building on Sunday. In addition, agreements were signed in the first half of the year with Meta (which controls Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp and Threads), X, TikTok, Kwai, Telegram and Google.

With the presence of companies at the TSE, the idea is to expand the exchange of information and allow coordinated action. In addition to sharing data about content and episodes that are being monitored, representatives will be able to activate their platforms when they identify situations that require an immediate response.

According to the authorities involved in the operation, the objective is to prevent false information or potentially harmful content from being identified on one platform and spreading to others before a reaction.

Monitoring will not necessarily depend on an external provocation: teams will be able to act on their own initiative, monitoring signs of risk and articulating responses to behaviors that could affect the integrity of the election at the most critical moments.

In addition to the structure intended for cyber security, the TSE has reserved a space to monitor situations such as violence against candidates or voters and threats linked to electoral sessions, with the activation of security agents, in the case of state intervention.

Weather conditions are also on the operation's radar. The rain forecast in the South and the drought scenario in the North will be monitored by a specific team. On Sunday, the court will have a weather situation room to monitor the impacts of weather conditions on voting and electoral logistics.

In situations where the movement of people is prevented due to floods or drought, the Armed Forces and local court structures may act. The Labor Courts are in cooperation with the TSE as they have more courts spread across the country.

Kassio also signed an agreement with the PRF to guarantee the circulation of voters on voting days. The text provides that inspection, policing and patrolling actions cannot become an obstacle to movement, but must be planned and executed to avoid retention.

The ordinance was signed after an initiative by the corporation's general director, Antônio Fernando Oliveira. The head of the PRF approached the TSE and proposed the measure to the president of the court as a way of having legal support for action throughout the periods of the two shifts.

In August 2023, Silvinei Vasques was arrested in a Federal Police operation on suspicions of the corporation's interference in the second round of the 2022 elections, when he was the general director. Silvinei was one of Jair Bolsonaro's (PL) closest subordinates and was summoned on the day of the second round by Alexandre de Moraes, then president of the TSE, to explain the PRF's actions at risk of arrest.

"The actions of the Federal Highway Police on federal highways, on voting days, must prioritize people's safety, the fluidity of traffic and the free movement of voters", says the ordinance signed by Kassio and the Minister of Justice and Public Security, Wellington Lima e Silva.

Any blockage on a federal highway on the 4th and 25th of October must be communicated, in a timely manner, to the presidency of the local Regional Electoral Court, with justification, the purpose and alternative routes that ensure people's free movement, except in cases of flagrant activity.

Moraes' management of the TSE in 2022 was more noisy than the current one, with Kassio heading up the organization of the elections. The court only took the lead in the final stage of the process.

The case involving Nossa Senhora Aparecida generated conflicting decisions and interference from the STF (Supreme Federal Court). Another tense issue in the final stretch was the canceled debate on Rede Globo, which involved decisions about the presence of candidates and the prohibition of showing empty chairs of those absent.