President Donald Trump cited Brazil’s fast election results while criticizing U.S. cities and states that he said “often take weeks” to count ballots.
“125 Million People voted today in the first round of Brazil’s Presidential Election,” Trump posted late Sunday night on Truth Social. “The results came out shortly after the vote closed, on the SAME DAY!”
Trump singled out Detroit, Philadelphia, and California, saying jurisdictions with far fewer voters “will often take weeks to Rig, I mean, calculate.”
“Voting in America is CORRUPT!!!” Trump added.
Brazil’s presidential election headed to an Oct. 25 runoff after conservative Sen. Flavio Bolsonaro, a Trump ally, and leftist President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva failed to win a majority Sunday.
With 99.8% of the vote reported, Bolsonaro had received more than 56 million votes compared with 53.7 million for Lula, according to The Associated Press.
Brazil’s Superior Electoral Court began publicly releasing results at 5 p.m. local time after voting ended, with totals updated as electronic voting-machine reports were transmitted and processed.
Bolsonaro, 45, is the son of former President Jair Bolsonaro and has campaigned on crime, public safety, fiscal restraint, and closer ties with the United States and Trump.
The speed of Brazil’s count contrasts with some U.S. jurisdictions, although election procedures differ significantly.
California, for example, allows mail ballots postmarked by Election Day to arrive as many as seven days later.
Officials also must process provisional ballots, conditional-registration ballots, and ballots requiring signature verification. Counties have up to 30 days to finalize official results.
Pennsylvania officials say state law prevents counties from beginning to open mail ballots until 7 a.m. on Election Day, a restriction that can slow reporting when large numbers of mail ballots are cast.
Michigan allows larger jurisdictions to begin processing and tabulating absentee ballots before Election Day, although totals cannot be released before polls close.
Large numbers of absentee ballots can still delay unofficial results.
Trump has repeatedly criticized lengthy vote-counting periods and pushed for election changes aimed at producing faster results.
Brazilian authorities, meanwhile, have defended their electronic voting system.
The AP reported that no significant fraud has been detected since Brazil adopted electronic voting in the 1990s, while international observers said Sunday’s voting proceeded under adequate security conditions.
The Oct. 25 runoff will determine whether Lula remains president of Latin America’s largest economy or Bolsonaro adds Brazil to a growing group of conservative-led governments in the region.
