Brazil Blocks US Visas Over Election Row

That history has shaped the dispute over Brazil’s election. After Bolsonaro lost in 2022, his supporters stormed Congress, the Supreme Court, and the Presidential Palace on 8 January, 2023, in an episode often compared with the 6 January Capitol riot in the United States. More recently, Flávio Bolsonaro told diplomats that Brazil’s voting machines had the same origin as Venezuela’s and cited a CIA report about fraud there. He later denied that he was attacking the system, saying he wanted more international observers instead.

Brazilian officials then blocked visas for a US delegation, saying they feared the visitors would try to spread unsupported doubts about the election. The officials identified in the source are Riley M Barnes, an assistant secretary of state for democracy, human rights, and labor, and Samuel Samson, a deputy assistant secretary in the same section. Brazil’s Superior Electoral Court has rejected Flávio Bolsonaro’s claims, and experts have praised the country’s electronic voting system as one of the most secure in the world. The system has been in use since 1996, uses fingerprints to verify voters, prints a paper copy of each tally, and is subject to independent audits and security testing. The takeaway for voters is that Brazil’s election fight is now pulling in Washington, with both sides accusing the other of trying to influence trust in the ballot box.