Senator Carlos Portinho presented an amendment in a bill under consideration by the Federal Senate to modernize the Brazilian electoral process
Man holding the Brazilian electoral justice app (Credit/TSE)
A bill that has been in the Federal Congress since 2021 seeking to modernize Brazilian elections has received a new amendment presented by Senator Carlos Portinho (PL-RJ), to ensure that blockchain technology is one of those evaluated in the process.
According to him, the Complementary Law Project (PLP) No. 112/2021 must consider the inclusion of the term blockchain and distributed ledgers. Amendment 233 was one of those presented by the legislator in recent days to the Secretariat of Support for the Constitution, Justice, and Citizenship Commission.
“§ 3º Among the technologies that may be considered for the purposes of studies and the development of new voting solutions, the use of distributed ledgers, such as blockchain technology, may be evaluated with a view to promoting greater transparency, auditability, and security in the electoral process, respecting applicable constitutional and legal principles,” says the amendment presented by the senator.
Senator justifies that blockchain will not be mandatory in Brazilian elections
One of the important topics in the draft law of the New Electoral Code is the study of new technologies, even if they are not adopted.
Thus, Senator Carlos Portinho intends for his amendment to help the Electoral Justice study blockchain technology but not impose its adoption.
“The present amendment aims to clarify the possibility for the Electoral Justice, in accordance with the studies provided in § 2º of art. 187, to consider, among emerging technologies, the use of systems based on distributed ledgers, such as blockchain technology, for the enhancement of electoral processes.
The mention of blockchain does not represent the imposition of adoption, but merely the normative opening for this technology to be subject to technical and legal analysis by the Electoral Justice. It is a tool that has been studied and tested worldwide in contexts that require a high degree of reliability, data integrity, and traceability, including in the field of electronic voting,” says the senator.
New Electoral Code must be approved by October for rules to start being valid in 2026
The bill being discussed under the name of 'New Electoral Code' has already been approved in the Chamber of Deputies. After analysis by the Federal Senate, the text returns to the Chamber to then go to presidential sanction.
However, for the rules to come into effect for the elections of 2026, PLP No. 112/2021 must be approved by October 3, 2025. In 2026, Brazil will go to the polls to choose positions for the Executive and Legislative.
In the Senate's CCJ, where it is currently under analysis, the bill has already had three public hearings and continues to receive attention from senators, as the rules change how the Brazilian democratic electoral process functions.
End of reelection for Presidents, Governors, and Mayors may change with PEC
Another proposal being discussed in the National Congress regarding elections is PEC 12/2022, which calls for the end of reelection for executive positions, such as Presidents, Governors, and Mayors.
With a single five-year term, the Constitutional Amendment Proposal also seeks to reform elections in the country. With both topics on the table, it seems that parliamentarians should broaden the debate on the electoral process, considering that PEC 12/2022 and the New Electoral Code may complement each other.
