Supreme Court Justice Cristiano Zanin extended voting hours at polling stations by two hours minutes before polls closed.
Posted by The Benny Show, Checked
- Sources
- 3 support3 context
- Said
- 1 time·
- Confidence
- 85%
The Benny ShowOct 26, 2026
Multiple tier1 and tier2 sources confirm that Justice Zanin ordered voting extended by two hours after requests from both campaigns. PBS and ABC report he ruled about three minutes before poll close, matching the claim's 'minutes before', though other sources say the ruling came shortly after closing, so the exact timing is disputed.
What was said
… All four lawyers interviewed in the call, uh, said that this is totally unprecedented. "It's extremely serious and critical situation," says one Brazilian election lawyer. Supreme Court Justice Cristiano Zanin decided minutes before the polls closed to extend all, uh, all polling stations by two additional hours, but 80% of the polling stations had already been closed by that time of the announcement. Some polling centers are already being closed, their voting machines have been shut down, they could not reopen. …
The Benny Show · · from the transcriptPost →What we found
Supports. Reuters reports that Supreme Court Justice Cristiano Zanin extended voting by two hours on Sunday, with polls moving from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. Brasília time.[1]
Supports. PBS and ABC News report that Zanin ruled three minutes before the scheduled end of voting, which matches the claim's 'minutes before the polls closed'.[3][4]
Context. Other reports, including AP's Spanish-language piece and Santa Maria Times, say the order came shortly after polls closed, so the timing detail is contested. Reuters places it right around the 5 p.m. cutoff. The core claim of a two-hour extension is not affected.[1][2][6]
Context. Several sources note that many polling stations had already closed when the order was relayed, which is consistent with the post's claim that 80% had closed but does not change whether the extension was ordered.[5][6]
Sources
6 sources: 2 fact-checkers, 2 tier 2, 2 not rated
- 1Brazil pauses presidential vote count after Supreme Court extends voting hoursreuters.com · fact-checker · cited for: supports, context
- 2Juez dice que ampliación de horario de votación en Brasil no tuvo ...apnews.com · fact-checker · cited for: context
- 3Lula beats Bolsonaro in Brazil runoff, securing fourth ...pbs.org · tier 2 · cited for: supports
- 4Brazil votes in a tense Lula vs Bolsonaro runoff as extended...abcnews.com · not rated · cited for: supports
- 5Lula Wins Re-election as Bolsonaro Rejects Resultnytimes.com · tier 2 · cited for: context
- 6The Latest: Brazilians vote in a tense runoff that sees last ...santamariatimes.com · not rated · cited for: context
Where this claim was made
Said in 1 published post
Related claims
- A Brazilian Supreme Court justice extended the voting time by two hours in the presidential election.True
- 80% of polling stations in Brazil had already closed by the time the Supreme Court announced the extension of voting hours.Can’t tell
- A judge ordered polls in Brazil to remain open for an additional two hours on October 25, 2026.True
- The Brazilian election had a two-hour extension for voting.True
- The Brazilian election was extended by two hours while Jair Bolsonaro was leading.Mixed