SAO PAULO, Brazil— About 125 million Brazilians voted Oct. 4 on machines that print no paper ballots. Less than four hours after polls closed, the country knew its presidential election was headed to a runoff between conservative challenger Flavio Bolsonaro and leftist President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva.

That process has been in place for over three decades, and Brazilians have become accustomed to its speed, simplicity, accuracy and routine. The system is robustly audited, completely disconnected from the Internet, and is the largest digital voting system deployed on the planet.

Eleven days before the U.S. midterms, Brazil’s system, analysts say, could offer Americans a more secure way to vote. 

The system has been widely praised and was also mentioned in President Donald Trump’s 2025 executive order on elections, where he cited Brazil’s biometric voter identification as an example. Yet Brazil’s count runs partially on the kind of paperless machines that the president has vowed to scrap.

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One citizen, one vote: digitally checked

Over the years, Brazil merged federal, state and municipal databases into a digital voting record, whereby voter identity, eligibility and single ability to vote can (and usually must) be verified biometrically. Nearly 9 in 10 voters unlock the machines with a fingerprint.

Brazil’s Superior Electoral Court, or TSE, which designs the machines and oversees elections, says there has been no proven fraud since their 1996 debut. The 499,248 machines used on Oct. 4 never connected to the internet. Their software was open to inspection by parties, universities and watchdogs for 11 months before being digitally signed and sealed in public. Last December, the Brazilian government invited a record 149 outsiders to try to break the system; evaluators concluded nothing they found could alter results or reveal how anyone voted.

On election day, randomly drawn machines are fed paper ballots on camera as federal auditors and foreign observers watch and specifically track results. 

Meanwhile, at closing, every machine used at every polling station prints its tally, which is then posted in front of the polling place with a QR code, so anyone can check it against the national count. In an email to Fox News Digital, TSE said each file’s digital signature "confirms that the result was produced by the electronic voting machine registered for that polling station."

Karina Stange Calandrin, a political scientist and professor at Instituto Brasileiro de Mercado de Capitais (IBMEC), says the system combines three traits rarely found together: voting is electronic, votes hashed to voter eligibility are stored locally in the machine and tallying is automated.

"It is an extremely secure and safe system. The machines never connect to the Internet and even the central database system used to transmit tallied votes to TSE must match results issued physically and locally by each individual machine without human interference," she said. Corrupting it, she added, would require breaking the seal of each machine and installing software that wouldn’t match the TSE’s version, automatically disqualifying its tally — a scale of collusion so large that it "simply could not pass undetected."

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The machines passed their toughest political test in 2022, when former President Jair Bolsonaro, now serving a 27-year sentence for plotting to overturn his 2022 defeat, spent years attacking their credibility without evidence. Bolsonaro is presently serving time under house arrest.

This year, for the first time, a Bolsonaro appointee ran the TSE: Justice Kassio Nunes Marques. Bolsonaro’s eldest son, Sen. Flávio Bolsonaro, finished first with 47% to President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva’s 45%. The machines at the center of the senior Bolsonaro’s controversy may yet hand victory to his son.

Florencia Ferrer, CEO of e-stategiapublica, which has audited elections in 17 countries, has no doubt the Brazilian system is the most modern and secure in the world. "In India votes are electronic, but each voter gets a printed version of their vote to take home, which weakens voter safety and augments coercion rates," she says, adding that Estonia’s internet voting and the Philippines’ electronically tallied paper ballots carry their own risks.

An engineer from the University of São Paulo’s Polytechnic School who audited the machines in 2014, and declined to be named due to the sensitive nature of his work, agreed. "While no system is completely infallible... we have found no traces of tampering, wrong-doing or malicious intent," he told Fox News Digital.

Still, some defend higher scrutiny. Security researchers say a clean record is not proof enough, and the Carter Center said voters should at least see a printed version of their ballot deposited into a separate area of the machine; otherwise, results integrity rests on software alone. Germany’s top court ruled in 2009 that voters must be able to check their ballot without expert help, effectively barring a Brazilian-like system.

Brazil’s machine has traveled mostly on loan to countries in Latin America, Africa and Asia. Paraguay adopted it permanently in 2006, with machines that now print each individual vote.

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"It’s obvious Washington and the remainder of the U.S. are way behind both technology as well as security when it comes to polling on voting day," Ferrer said. U.S. elections are run in thousands of local jurisdictions under 50 sets of state rules and about 30% of 2024 ballots came by mail, which is slower to process. Brazil has one national election authority, compulsory voting and no mail-in ballots.

Brazilians will vote this coming Sunday on Oct. 25. The winner is expected to be known and certified in under five hours.

"The question is not whether Brazil has invented a perfect voting machine. No voting system is perfect. It is whether democracies can combine the speed and consistency of digital tabulation with independent verification, public scrutiny and rules that citizens across the political spectrum have reason to trust," Ferrer said.

More than 200 years ago, President James Monroe established a simple principle: the security of the United States is directly tied to the security of the Western Hemisphere. Today, that principle is just as vital. With communist China expanding its influence throughout Latin America and transnational criminal organizations threatening American communities, it is time to reaffirm the Monroe Doctrine and put American interests first in our own hemisphere.

President Donald Trump's efforts to expand military training and security cooperation with Latin American partners represent the exact forward-thinking America First policies our national security demands. Deploying elements of the 10th Mountain Division to Panama for jungle training and joint exercises marks an important step toward strengthening the Shield of the Americas initiative.

By strengthening our regional allies, we take the fight to criminal organizations before their operations reach American communities. Providing partners with the training, equipment and intelligence they need helps them dismantle drug-trafficking networks, disrupt smuggling routes and stop deadly drugs before reaching our borders. This protects American interests while allowing allies to take the lead in securing their own countries.

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The Trump administration is also expanding regional intelligence capabilities by shifting MQ-9 Reaper drones from U.S. Africa Command to U.S. Southern Command. Supporting operations in Colombia and Ecuador, these aircraft deliver critical surveillance to track trafficking networks across remote jungles, borders and maritime routes. Combined with greater intelligence sharing and coordinated operations, these efforts help dismantle criminal networks at the source.

However, drug trafficking is only one part of the threat. During a recent congressional delegation trip to Ecuador, Peru and Colombia, we saw firsthand the growing influence of communist China. Beijing has spent years expanding its economic and strategic footprint through investments in ports, mining operations, critical infrastructure and key industries. These investments are not simply about trade; they give China leverage over regional economies, access to critical resources and influence over historically reliable American partners.

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One of the clearest examples is the Port of Chancay in Peru. Built and operated by Chinese state-owned COSCO, this deep-water port has the capacity to transform trade between South America and Asia. While increased trade benefits Peru's economy, China's control of critical infrastructure raises serious security concerns regarding intelligence collection, logistical support or future military use. The United States cannot stand by while our greatest strategic competitor establishes a foothold in our backyard.

While in Peru, our delegation met with U.S. Ambassador Bernie Navarro, who is actively strengthening this crucial partnership. Navarro is demonstrating the value of strong American diplomatic leadership. His recent coordination with Peruvian defense officials and Southern Command commander General Francis Donovan to combat narcoterrorist organizations, including those in the Valle de los Ríos Apurímac, Ene y Mantaro (Valley of the Apurímac, Ene and Mantaro rivers), also known as the VRAEM region, is the results-driven engagement we need.

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These efforts reinforce a central truth: a strong American presence in the hemisphere does not require us to act alone. It requires working with willing partners who share our interest in combating criminal networks, protecting sovereignty and preventing hostile foreign powers from gaining strategic influence. That is why renewing our commitment to the Monroe Doctrine is critical.

The Western Hemisphere cannot be treated as a secondary priority while China expands its influence and criminal organizations exploit weak institutions and porous borders. The threats emerging from Latin America directly affect American national security, our economy and the safety of our communities.

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As a member of the House Appropriations Subcommittee on National Security, Department of State, and Related Programs, I believe our foreign policy and assistance must produce tangible benefits for the American people. Our embassies, security partnerships and diplomatic resources must focus on advancing American interests, countering Chinese influence and helping allies confront shared threats.

That also means demanding accountability. Taxpayers deserve to know their dollars are spent effectively, that partners contribute their fair share and that investments deliver measurable results. We should cut wasteful programs and direct resources toward initiatives that strengthen national security.

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America First does not mean America alone. It means recognizing that American strength, backed by capable regional partners, is the best defense against regional threats. Trump's expanded security cooperation in Panama, increased intelligence capabilities in Colombia and Ecuador, and renewed diplomatic engagement in Peru are vital components of that strategy.

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The Monroe Doctrine was built on the understanding that foreign threats in our hemisphere cannot be ignored. Two centuries later, that lesson remains true. A secure Western Hemisphere is essential to a secure United States — it is time we start treating it that way.