How biometrics works in Brazilian 2022 elections

About 120 million voters, a number equivalent to 75 percent of the Brazilian electorate, were identified through biometrics on October 2, in the first round of the country´s elections.

Despite being used since 2008, biometric identification became controversial in this year's elections, after problems in the identification and in collecting fingerprints that had not been previously registered. The measures caused queues and delays in the voting process. Some voters reported queuing for about three hours.

With this type of system, upon arriving at the polling station, the voter presents an ID with a photo, the registration card, or the e-electoral card app, if the biometrics have been previously registered. Once the device recognizes the elector`s fingerprint, one may vote using the electronic ballot box.

Biometric identification was used for the first time in the 2008 municipal elections, in some Brazilian municipalities. The Superior Electoral Court expects to have 100 percent of the electorate recognized by fingerprint in the 2026 elections.