How the TSE tallies the votes
Tallying is the sum of the votes from every voting machine, carried out by the Superior Electoral Court (TSE). Each machine prints a ballot box report with the totals for its polling station, and the TSE adds these reports as the stations send them. That is why results appear station by station until the count reaches 100%.
Brazil Election 2026 · Published October 11, 2026 · Updated October 25, 2026 · Source: TSE
What does it mean to tally the votes?
To tally is to add up the votes from every polling station to reach the total for each candidate, each party and each office. In the 2026 election, the TSE, Brazil's Superior Electoral Court, does this sum using the ballot box reports from every polling station in the country.
Electronic voting machines are not connected to the internet. When voting ends, starting at 5 p.m., each machine prints a ballot box report with the totals for its polling station, and it is that data the TSE adds up. The printed report is therefore the document that links each polling station to the national count.
How do the reports reach the TSE?
As soon as voting ends, the data from each machine is sent to the TSE. The transmission happens at different times at each polling station, and the court adds each report to the total as it arrives. No station enters the total before its data has been received.
The tally begins shortly after voting closes and continues through the night. While some stations have not yet reported, the figures show only part of the election. For that reason, a partial result should never be read as a final result, even when the gap looks large.
| Stage | What happens |
|---|---|
| Close | Voting ends at 5 p.m., Brasília time |
| Ballot box report | Each machine prints the totals for its polling station |
| Transmission | Each station's data reaches the TSE |
| Sum | The TSE tallies the reports and publishes the results |
Why do results come in gradually?
Results appear station by station, not all at once. Each new report added changes the totals slightly, which is why the numbers in a partial count can differ from the final result. This is a feature of the count, not an error.
Brazil Election 2026 updates the totals every 15 seconds during the count, using the TSE's official data. The percentage of polling stations counted shows how much of the tally has been completed, and each state's page shows the progress of its count.
Where is the data publicly available?
Ballot box reports are posted at each polling station and published by the TSE, so anyone can check the totals for a given station. Consolidated results are on the results portal at resultados.tse.jus.br, and the Resultados app shows the same official figures.
Those who want to work with the raw data can use the TSE's Open Data Portal, at dadosabertos.tse.jus.br. News outlets such as g1, UOL, Folha, Estadão and CNN Brasil also publish the results, and all of them show the same TSE figures.
What happens after the last polling station?
When every polling station has been tallied, the percentage reaches 100% and there are no reports left to add. The total published by the TSE then becomes the official result of the election, and any later challenge follows the channels set out in the law. Verification remains possible from the posted and published ballot box reports.
The same figures appear on news sites, on Brazil Election 2026 and in the Resultados app, because all of them republish the TSE's data. If a number looks different between two sources, the reference is always the ballot box report and the TSE's official portal.
Sources
Election results, TSE: https://resultados.tse.jus.br
TSE Open Data Portal: https://dadosabertos.tse.jus.br
Frequently asked questions
Who tallies the votes?
The TSE tallies the votes by adding up the ballot box reports from every polling station in the country. News sites and Brazil Election 2026 show these same official figures.
Why do the results change during the night?
Because the tally advances station by station. Each report added increases the vote totals, and the percentages become fixed only when every station has been added.
Do the voting machines use the internet for the tally?
No. Electronic voting machines are not connected to the internet. Each one prints its own ballot box report, and it is that report the TSE adds up.
Where can I find the raw tally data?
The TSE's open data is in the Open Data Portal, at https://dadosabertos.tse.jus.br. For consolidated results, use https://resultados.tse.jus.br.
How long does the tally take to finish?
There is no fixed deadline. The tally ends when every polling station has been added, and progress appears in near real time on the results pages.