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History of the Electoral Justice system

The Brazilian Electoral Court is formed by the Superior Electoral Court (TSE), the regional electoral courts (TRE’s), the judges and the electoral boards. All these bodies have their composition established by the Federal Constitution and their competence determined by the Electoral Code (in portuguese).

The history of the Electoral Justice system is intertwined with that of the TSE, an institution created by Decree No. 21,076/1932 – with the name of Superior Court of Electoral Justice – and appointed on May 20 of the same year, in a building on Avenida Rio Branco, downtown Rio de Janeiro. Its first president was Minister Hermenegildo Rodrigues de Barros.

Five years later, the Constitution of the New State, granted by Getúlio Vargas, extinguished the Electoral Justice and gave the Union, privately, the power to legislate on electoral matters.

The TSE was only reinstated on May 28, 1945, by Decree-Law No. 7,586/1945. On June 1st of the same year, the Court was established in the Monroe Palace, in Rio de Janeiro, under the presidency of Minister José Linhares. A year later, the headquarters of the institution were transferred to Rua 1º de Março, still in Rio de Janeiro.

In April 1960, due to the transfer of the federal capital, the TSE was installed in Brasília, in one of the buildings on the Ministries Esplanade. Eleven years later (1971), the Court was transferred to Praça dos Tribunais Superiores.

On December 15, 2011 the new TSE headquarters was inaugurated.

For any questions, send an email to museu@tse.jus.br.

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Feb. 24, 1932 –With the enactment of Decree No. 21,076 (first electoral code in Brazil), the Electoral Court and its structure was created, with a Superior Court and Regional Courts in each state. Among the code's important innovations, women’s right to vote and to be elected stands out – expressed in a legal provision for the first time. In addition, the decree instituted the 5th model of electoral title, secret ballot, and proportional representation.

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May 20, 1932 – Instatement of the Superior Court of Electoral Justice (TSJE) on Avenida Rio Branco, Rio de Janeiro (RJ).

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May 3, 1933 – First election held after the creation of the Electoral Court. At the time, Carlota Queiroz was the only woman elected for the position of Federal Deputy in the Constituent Assembly.

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May 4, 1935 – Publication of Law no. 48, which modified the Electoral Code of 1932. The Law was not applied, as the coup of the New State took place in 1937.

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Nov. 10, 1937 – The 1937 Constitution was bestowed, which abolished the Electoral Justice, abolished the existing political parties, suspended free elections, and established an indirect election for the President of the Republic, with a six-year term. Despite the constitutional provision, the aforementioned election never took place.

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May 28, 1945 –Publication of Decree-Law No. 7,586 (second Electoral Code), which reinstated the Electoral Justice and instituted the 6th model of electoral title.

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June 1, 1945 – Installation of the Superior Electoral Court (TSE) at the Monroe Palace, Rio de Janeiro.

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Dec. 2, 1945 – The first election was held after the reestablishment of the Electoral Court, in which deputies and senators who would form a new Constituent National Assembly, in addition to the new President of the Republic: General Eurico Gaspar Dutra, were elected.

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Transfer of the TSE headquarters to the current building of the Cultural Center for Electoral Justice (CCJE), Rua 1º de Março, Rio de Janeiro.

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July 24, 1950 – Publication of Law no. 1,164 (3rd Electoral Code).

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Aug. 31, 1951 – The TSE published Resolution No. 4,357 which instituted the 7th model of electoral title.

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July 25, 1955 –Publication of Law No. 2,250, which instituted the 8th model of electoral title and created the individual voting sheet that placed the voter in a single electoral section.

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Aug. 30, 1955 – Publication of Law No. 2,582, which established the single voting ballot for the positions of president and vice president – although political parties were still allowed to manufacture and distribute ballots according to the model established by law.

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The voting machine created by Sócrates Ricardo Puntel would, according to its own inventor, be capable of totaling the votes captured by it in just four seconds. The machine worked using keys and two rulers, which indicated the positions to be filled at the time. The voter would vote according to the candidate's number.

In 1968, Puntel held a mock election at the Admiralty headquarters, winning the sympathy of then Minister of the Navy Augusto Rademaker. Two months later he presented his invention to the TSE.

However, as it was complicated to use, the machine was not adopted by the Electoral Court.

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April 22, 1960 – TSE headquarters are transferred from Rio de Janeiro to Brasília.

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Jan. 6, 1963 – Referendum (1st popular consultation held in the country) on the maintenance of parliamentarism in force or the return of the presidential system.

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Apr. 9, 1964 – Publication of Institutional Act no. 1, which established the indirect election of President of the Republic by the National Congress.

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July 15, 1965 – Publication of Law no. 4,737 (4th Electoral Code).

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Oct. 27, 1965 – Publication of Institutional Act no. 2, which extinguished the existing political parties.

The legal requirements for the creation of new parties became stricter, which ended up forcing bipartisanship in the country, represented by the National Renewal Alliance (ARENA) and the Brazilian Democratic Movement (MDB).

The act also definitively established the indirect election for president and vice president of the Republic, in a roll-call vote by members of the National Congress.

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Feb. 5, 1966 – Publication of Institutional Act No. 3, which established the indirect election of governors by the State Legislative Assemblies, and that these governors shall nominate the mayors of the capitals, after approval by the respective Legislative Assemblies.

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June 7, 1982 – Law nº 6,996, which provided for the use of electronic data processing in electoral services, entered into force.

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Dec. 20, 1985 – Publication of Law No. 7,444 which instituted the 9th model of electoral title.

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Apr. 15, 1986 – Launch of national electoral registration through electronic data processing.

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Oct. 5, 1988 – Proclamation of the Citizen Constitution, which established the two-round election system for the positions of president of the Republic, governor, and mayor (in cities with more than 200,000 voters), in addition to the optional vote for the illiterate, for those over 70 years of age, and for voters between the ages of sixteen and eighteen.

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Nov. 15, 1989 – 1st direct election for president after 29 years, with electronic totaling of votes.

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Dec. 17, 1989 – In the second round of presidential elections, voters in the municipality of Brusque (Santa Catarina) voted through a computer, for the first time, on an experimental basis.

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March 31, 1991 – First fully computerized election in Latin America, carried out by TRE/SC, which covered both the voting stage and the counting of votes of the plebiscitary consultation for the emancipation of the District of Cocal (now Cocal do Sul), in the municipality of Urussanga, when more than 6,000 voters voted in 16 electronic sections.

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Apr. 21, 1993 – Holding of a plebiscite on the form (monarchy or republic) and system (parliamentary or presidential) of government in the country. This consultation consolidated the form and system of current government – Presidential Republic.

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Feb. 12, 1995 – The first fully computerized election takes place in Brazil, in the municipality of Xaxim (Santa Catarina), for the positions of mayor and vice-mayor.

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Oct. 3, 1996 – First election in which the electronic voting machine adopted by the TSE was used. The electronic voting system was used in all capitals and cities with more than 200 thousand voters.

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Oct. 1, 2000 – Electronic voting machines were used in all Brazilian municipalities.

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Oct. 23, 2005 – Brazilians were consulted, through a referendum, on the prohibition of firearms and ammunition sales in the country.

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Oct. 26, 2008 – Biometrics was tested for the first time in the cities of Colorado do Oeste (Rondônia), São João Batista (Santa Catarina) and Fátima do Sul (Mato Grosso do Sul) and, since then, the biometric registration of voters throughout the national territory has been expanded.

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Dec. 1, 2017 – Launch of e-Título – a digital electoral title which can be accessed through an application for smartphones and tablets.

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Mar. 14, 2019 – The Federal Supreme Court (STF) recognized that the Electoral Court is responsible for prosecuting and trying common crimes that are tied to electoral crimes.