A judge ordered polls in Brazil to remain open for an additional two hours on October 25, 2026.
Posted by The Headlines, Checked
- Sources
- 5 support2 context
- Said
- 1 time·
- Confidence
- 93%
The HeadlinesOct 26, 2026
Multiple tier1 and tier2 sources report that Brazilian Supreme Court Justice Cristiano Zanin, a judge, ordered polls to stay open two extra hours on Sunday, October 25, 2026, at both campaigns' request. The claim departs from the passage only in naming the date, which the posted day (October 26, 'yesterday') supplies.
What was said
… Simulação dessas eleições. This time, the son, Flavio Bolsonaro, has also refused to recognize Lula's victory, saying the rules changed, quote, "in the middle of the game," after a judge ordered polls to remain open for an additional two hours yesterday. Extra time was something both parties requested after transportation delays and bad weather disrupted voting, but Flavio Bolsonaro now wants the election to be annulled. …
The Headlines · · from the transcriptPost →What we found
Supports. The AP report says Justice Cristiano Zanin ruled three minutes before the scheduled end of voting to extend it by two hours, and that the electoral court's count came after an evening of chaos at polling places.[1][3]
Supports. BBC live coverage states that voting was extended until 19:00 local time following a Supreme Court decision, after requests from President Lula's campaign and the opposing campaign.[4]
Supports. Reuters and NYT coverage independently describe a judge or Supreme Court justice extending voting by two hours on election day, with both candidates requesting the extension after transport and weather disruptions.[2][5]
Context. Sources dispute the motives and fairness of the extension, with Bolsonaro calling it a rule change and some right-wing commentators calling it partisan, but none disputes that the extension was ordered.[5][6][7]
Sources
7 sources: 2 fact-checkers, 3 tier 2, 1 tier 1, 1 not rated
- 1Brazil votes in a tense Lula vs Bolsonaro runoff as extended ...apnews.com · fact-checker · cited for: supports
- 2PODCAST: Lula's comeback, Machado's return and soccer's top prizereuters.com · fact-checker · cited for: supports
- 3Lula beats Bolsonaro in Brazil runoff, securing fourth ...pbs.org · tier 2 · cited for: supports
- 4Brazil elections: Polls remain open after last-minute extension in election run-off between Lula and Bolsonaro's sonbbc.com · tier 1 · cited for: supports
- 5Lula Wins Re-election as Bolsonaro Rejects Resultnytimes.com · tier 2 · cited for: supports, context
- 6Right-Wingers Are Convinced The Brazilian Elections Were ...huffpost.com · tier 2 · cited for: context
- 7Court-ordered voting extension sparks election controversyvalorinternational.globo.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
- The Brazilian election had a two-hour extension for voting.True
- In the Brazilian election, 36,000 votes were cast after a judge's order to keep polls open.True
- Supreme Court Justice Cristiano Zanin extended voting hours at polling stations by two hours minutes before polls closed.True
- The Brazilian election was extended by two hours while Jair Bolsonaro was leading.Mixed