Brazil's Electoral Justice summons poll workers for October 2026 elections

Brazil's Electoral Justice (TSE) has begun sending official letters to citizens to serve as mesários – poll‑station staff – for the general elections scheduled for 4 October 2026, with a possible second round on 25 October. The call is coordinated by regional electoral courts and covers voting sections throughout the country as well as abroad, including vote‑in‑transit locations. The letters detail the duties of mesários, such as voter identification, performing the “zerésima” (zero‑vote check before polling starts) and assisting the voting process. Recipients may request exemption within five days of the notice by submitting a justification to the electoral judge. Work is unpaid, but participants receive two days of leave for each day worked or trained, a R$ 65 meal allowance per shift, and can count the hours toward university extracurricular activity. The total number of mesários to be mobilised has not been disclosed; in the 2022 presidential election about 1.5 million people performed these duties. The procedure also allows voluntary registration in addition to the compulsory nomination of eligible voters.