Calendar · today 6 Nov 2026 · Brasília time
Brazil votes every two years, always on the first Sunday of October with runoffs on the last: general elections (President, governors, Congress, state assemblies) and, two years later, municipal ones. The 2026 cycle ends with the inaugurations of 5 and 6 January and the new Congress on 1 February 2027.
2026 general elections
Parties and federations pick their candidates and decide coalitions for the majority races.
Lei 9.504/1997 art. 8 · computed from the law's rule · source ↗
Parties file each candidacy with the electoral courts; the courts then judge every registration.
Lei 9.504/1997 art. 11 · computed from the law's rule · source ↗
Propaganda, including on the internet, is allowed from 16 August; straw polls (enquetes) are banned from then.
Lei 9.504/1997 arts. 33 §5, 36, 57-A · computed from the law's rule · source ↗
The horário eleitoral gratuito: blocks and spots shared mostly by Chamber seats, 35 days ending the day before the antevéspera.
Lei 9.504/1997 art. 47 · computed from the law's rule · source ↗
From 48 hours before the vote, no rallies, public meetings or broadcast propaganda.
Código Eleitoral art. 240 sole para.; Lei 9.504/1997 art. 39 §4 · computed from the law's rule · source ↗
Paid adverts in newspapers are allowed up to the antevéspera, within size limits.
Lei 9.504/1997 art. 43 · computed from the law's rule · source ↗
Walks, motorcades, sound cars and leaflets are allowed until 22h on the eve of the vote.
Lei 9.504/1997 art. 39 §9 · computed from the law's rule · source ↗
President, 27 governors, 54 senators (two-thirds renewal), 513 federal deputies, 1,059 state and district deputies.
Constitution / TSE · source ↗
Split equally between the two candidates in each runoff.
Lei 9.504/1997 art. 49 · computed from the law's rule · source ↗
President (Lula v Flávio Bolsonaro) and governors in AC, AM, DF, ES, RN and TO.
Constitution / TSE · source ↗
Reported deadline under the TSE's 2026 calendar resolution; not read in the resolution itself.
To confirm · tentative · source ↗
First inauguration on 5 January: EC 111/2021 moved it from 1 January from the 2027 term on (CF art. 82).
Constitution / TSE · source ↗
6 January from 2027 on (CF art. 28, as amended by EC 111/2021).
Constitution / TSE · source ↗
Deputies and senators take office and each house elects its presiding board (CF art. 57 §4).
Constitution / TSE · source ↗
Upcoming
Municipal elections · 5.569 municipalities
General elections · one Senate seat per state
Round dates follow the Constitution (first and last Sundays of October, arts. 28, 29 and 77); campaign dates follow Lei 9.504/1997. The TSE confirms both in a calendar resolution about a year ahead; until then they are marked tentative. Electoral-law changes apply only to elections more than a year after they are enacted (art. 16).
Who is elected, and how
| Office | Seats | System | Term | Digits on the urna | Next |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| President and Vice-President Presidente | 1 | Two-round majority: an absolute majority of valid votes, else a runoff between the top two | 4 years · one re-election | 2 | 2030 |
| Governors and vice-governors Governador | 27 | Two-round majority in each state and the DF | 4 years · one re-election | 2 | 2030 |
| Senators Senador | 81 (3 per unit) | Plurality; one seat per state (2030) or two (2026, 2034), as many votes as seats; two substitutes each | 8 years | 3 | 2030 (27 seats) |
| Federal deputies Deputado federal | 513 (8–70 per unit) | Open-list proportional representation per state: electoral and party quotients, leftovers by largest average | 4 years | 4 | 2030 |
| State and district deputies Deputado estadual / distrital | 1.059 | Open-list PR statewide, same rules as the Chamber | 4 years | 5 | 2030 |
| Mayors and vice-mayors Prefeito | 5.569 | Plurality; two rounds in municipalities with more than 200.000 electors | 4 years · one re-election | 2 | 2028 |
| Councillors Vereador | 9–55 per council | Open-list PR across the municipality | 4 years | 5 | 2028 |
Literate citizens aged 18 to 70: registration and voting are compulsory. Optional for those aged 16 and 17, over 70, and the illiterate. Minimum ages to stand: 35 for President and senator, 30 for governor, 21 for deputies and mayor, 18 for councillor (Constitution art. 14). Senate: Three senators per state and the DF, by plurality; renewed alternately by one-third (2022, 2030) and two-thirds (2026, 2034); each elected with two substitutes (art. 46).
Try it · what may be published?
Choose a date and a time in Brasília. The answer applies Brazil's rules on polls, exit polls, propaganda, free airtime and rallies (the same code this site uses to decide what it shows).
Phase After the vote
Polls registered with the TSE at least five days before publication may be published, with their registration number. There is no pre-election blackout (STF, ADI 3.741).
Lei 9.504/1997 arts. 33, 35-A; Res.-TSE 23.600/2019No polling day today: nothing to embargo.
Res.-TSE 23.600/2019 art. 12 (Res.-TSE 23.727/2024)No campaign under way.
Lei 9.504/1997 arts. 36, 36-A, 39, 57-ANot on air today. 2026: 28/08–01/10 and 09/10–23/10.
Lei 9.504/1997 arts. 47, 49Only during the campaign.
Código Eleitoral art. 240; Lei 9.504/1997 art. 39 §4The TSE's totalised results are public.
Res.-TSE 23.751/2026 (polling hours)Crimes on polling day · Lei 9.504/1997 art. 39 §5
Not legal advice. Dates outside 2026, 2028 and 2030 have no election and return the off-season rules.
Campaign rules
Propaganda periods
Candidates may promote themselves before 16 August as long as they do not explicitly ask for votes (art. 36-A). From 16 August, street campaigning, leaflets, internet posts and paid boosting by the campaign are allowed (arts. 36, 57-A, 57-C); outdoor billboards are banned (art. 39 §8). Rallies run from 8h to 24h and end 48 hours before the vote (Código Eleitoral art. 240); walks and motorcades end at 22h on the eve (art. 39 §9).
Free airtime · horário eleitoral gratuito
Radio and TV carry the campaigns' blocks and spots in the 35 days before the antevéspera (art. 47); in 2026 from 28 August to 1 October, and for the runoff from 9 to 23 October, split equally between the two candidates (art. 49). 90% of the time is shared in proportion to the parties' Chamber seats and 10% equally (art. 47 §2); paid political advertising on radio and TV is banned (art. 44).
Debates
Broadcasters may hold debates, under rules agreed with the parties; they must invite the candidates of parties with at least five members of Congress (art. 46). Debates are not compulsory, and a debate needs the agreement of the candidates taking part.
Polls
Election polls published for the public must be registered with the Electoral Justice at least five days before publication; publishing an unregistered poll is fined 50,000–100,000 UFIR and a fraudulent one is a crime. Each publication must show the registration number (PesqEle).
There is no pre-election poll blackout: the 15-day ban added in 2006 (art. 35-A) was struck down by the STF (ADI 3741). Registered polls may be published up to and on polling day.
Lei 9.504/1997 art. 33 caput and §§3–4; Res.-TSE 23.600/2019 arts. 2 and 10 ↗Exit polls and straw polls
A survey of voting intention carried out on polling day (boca de urna) may be published only from 17h Brasília time. Enquetes (unscientific straw polls) about the election are banned during the campaign (from 16 August of the election year).
Res.-TSE 23.600/2019 art. 12, as amended by Res.-TSE 23.727/2024 ↗Polling day
Crimes on polling day: loudspeakers, rallies and motorcades; canvassing voters or 'boca de urna' propaganda; distributing party or candidate propaganda; and new or boosted content on the internet (content already published may stay up). Silent individual displays (flags, badges, stickers) are allowed.
Lei 9.504/1997 art. 39 §5 I–IV and art. 39-A ↗Articles are of Lei 9.504/1997 unless stated. Promoting an unlicensed fixed-odds betting operator is an administrative offence; the Ministry of Finance's Secretariat of Prizes and Betting (SPA) ordered Polymarket and 26 other prediction-market sites blocked (Anatel, from 24 April 2026), and the TSE treats betting on election results as an electoral offence (Res.-TSE 23.735/2024 as amended in 2024). The site shows prices with attribution but no link.