# What the TSE is and what its role in the election is The Superior Electoral Court (TSE) is the top body of Brazil's Electoral Justice and the national authority over the election. It coordinates voting across the country, adds up the votes from each polling station and publishes the official results at resultados.tse.jus.br. The numbers on Brazil Election 2026 are those published by this same court. Updated 2026-10-25 · Source: Tribunal Superior Eleitoral (https://resultados.tse.jus.br) · https://eleicoes2026brasil.com/en/guias/o-que-e-tse ## What is the TSE? The TSE is the highest court of the Electoral Justice system, based in Brasília. It guides and standardizes the application of electoral rules across the country and operates nationally, unlike the courts of each state. The presidential election is counted and published by the TSE, with totals by state and by municipality. For that reason, the numbers for an election are the same, no matter which website or app displays them. It is the national reference body for any question about the presidential election. ## What is the TSE's role in voting? The TSE organizes voting with the electronic voting machines, sets the electoral calendar and publishes information for voters. The machines are not connected to the internet, which is part of how the vote is designed. In the count, the TSE receives ballot box reports as polling stations send their data and adds up the totals. Results appear station by station, which is why the numbers change through the night. Anyone following the count all night will see the total grow, as expected in a count run this way. After voting, the TSE also publishes the official result of the election, which is the reference for any later analysis. ## Where can I follow the TSE's numbers? Official results are at https://resultados.tse.jus.br and in the Resultados app. That is the address for anyone who wants to check the official number for any polling station. The press, websites and apps show the same TSE numbers, and the difference between them lies in presentation, not in the data. When citing a number, the safest approach is to name the TSE as the source, with its official address. Brazil Election 2026 is free, requires no sign-up and has no ties to the TSE. ## The TSE's open data The TSE runs an Open Data Portal, at https://dadosabertos.tse.jus.br, where electoral datasets are available for consultation and reuse. This is the official route for anyone who wants complete data, not just results pages. For spreadsheet analysis, the data portal is the natural starting point. A quick reading of a result, on the other hand, can be done on the official results pages. ## What comes after the vote? After the count, the TSE moves on to the certification of the elected candidates, which takes place in December, on dates set in the court's own calendar. Inauguration will take place in 2027: the president is sworn in on January 5, and the governors on January 6. Federal deputies and senators begin the new legislature on February 1, 2027. The inauguration dates for the president and governors follow Constitutional Amendment 111/2021, and the start of the legislature follows Article 57 of the Constitution. Until the inauguration, official information is checked against the TSE's publications. ## Who uses the TSE's information? Journalists, researchers, parties and voters follow the TSE's numbers. Because everyone uses the same official base, differences between sources usually lie in how the data are presented, not in the figures themselves. To check a piece of information, compare it with the result published at https://resultados.tse.jus.br, rather than with a version passed on by third parties. ## Sources Superior Electoral Court (TSE): https://www.tse.jus.br Election results on the TSE portal: https://resultados.tse.jus.br ## Frequently asked questions ### Does the TSE publish the official result? Yes. The TSE publishes the official result at https://resultados.tse.jus.br and in the Resultados app, with the totals for each polling station counted. ### What is the difference between the TSE and a TRE? The TSE is the national court, in Brasília. Each TRE is a state court and handles the election within its state's territory. ### When does the TSE publish the runoff results? On the October 25, 2026 voting day, the TSE publishes the figures as ballot box reports arrive, starting at 5 p.m. Brasília time. ### What is the Resultados app? The Resultados app is the TSE's application for publishing results, and it shows the same numbers published at https://resultados.tse.jus.br. ### Does the TSE set the election calendar? Yes. The TSE sets the electoral calendar, which guides the dates of the election's stages, such as voting and the certification of the elected candidates. ## Also read - [O que é a Justiça Eleitoral e como ela funciona? (in Portuguese)](https://eleicoes2026brasil.com/guias/o-que-e-justica-eleitoral) - [O que é o TRE e o que ele faz no seu estado? (in Portuguese)](https://eleicoes2026brasil.com/guias/o-que-e-tre) - [How does the TSE tally the votes?](https://eleicoes2026brasil.com/en/guias/como-funciona-a-totalizacao) ## Results - [President](https://eleicoes2026brasil.com/en) - [First round](https://eleicoes2026brasil.com/en/primeiro-turno) - [Runoff](https://eleicoes2026brasil.com/en/segundo-turno) - [All guides](https://eleicoes2026brasil.com/en/guias)