Biometric registration keeps Brazilian voters in line for hours

Nov 18, 2019 | Luana Pascu

Biometric registration keeps Brazilian voters in line for hours

Voters in the Brazilian city of Fortaleza waited for hours in mile-long lines on Saturday at the Ceará Event Center to register their biometric information with the Regional Electoral Court (TRE-CE), writes G1 Globo.com, as translated by Google.

To give their biometric information, people have to bring a government ID or a document that confirms they are Brazilian nationals, and proof of residence.

In four days, the institution collected almost 20,000 entries. The line of voters started forming at 8 in the morning and the line was closed at approximately 11am. On Sunday the service was again available from 8am to noon.

The number of people present was twice the number expected. The Regional Electoral Court (TRE-CE) released a statement asking people to no longer come that day because the event was at maximum capacity. Medical help was necessary for a number of people affected by heat stroke.

Locals have until November 29 to register their biometric data with the institution. If voters are not registered by this date, they will not be able to vote, apply, register or receive social welfare under the Bolsa Família program, get a passport, borrow money or receive their salaries if they work for the government.

In October, the Brazilian government announced its plan for a massive centralized biometric database of all citizens to improve agency data sharing. This would involve the collection of a wide-ranging selection of information such as fingerprint, iris, face, voice, and gait biometrics from all 200 million citizens that will be shared “as widely as possible” across government departments.