Linux is not confined to laptops, web servers and hobbyist projects. Brazil’s electronic voting machines use a Linux distribution called Uenux, developed by the country’s Superior Electoral Court (Tribunal Superior Eleitoral, or TSE). The TSE defines Uenux as a complete distribution containing a bootloader, Linux kernel, drivers, libraries and applications. For Brazil’s 2026 general election, the TSE reported a plan to deploy 563,910 machines across four models.
Brazil’s voting machines have a Linux operating system
Brazil is the clearest national-scale example of Linux in election equipment. TSE Resolution 23.673, dated December 14, 2021, defines Uenux as a “Linux distribution developed by the TSE technical team for use in electronic voting machines.” The definition specifically lists its bootloader, Linux kernel, drivers, libraries and applications.
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That wording matters. Uenux is not simply a generic desktop installation placed on a voting machine. It is an electoral-authority distribution designed for a specialized embedded device, with the operating-system layer integrated with the machine’s hardware and voting applications. The TSE, rather than an outside consumer software vendor, develops and administers it.
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In its 2026 election information, the TSE listed four voting-machine models: UE2022, UE2020, UE2015 and UE2013. It reported a planned total of 563,910 machines. That is an election-cycle plan published by the TSE, not an independently audited final count.
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The UE2013 model appeared alongside improvements to Uenux, and the TSE says those improvements were also implemented in later models. The model names therefore identify hardware generations; they do not mean that each generation uses an unrelated operating system.
Linux appears beyond the voting machine itself
The voting machine is only one part of an election system. TSE documentation for the 2026 election identifies several associated applications running in Linux environments, including information, receipt, transmission and vote-totalization systems.
These functions should not be collapsed into one “Linux voting system.” A machine that records a voter’s choices, a system that transmits election data and a system that totals results are separate components with different roles and controls. The documentation shows Linux in multiple layers of the election technology stack, not that every device or process involved in Brazil’s election runs Linux.
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What Brazil says about inspection and integrity
The TSE reported that the 2026 election systems were available for source-code inspection from October 2, 2025, until the public signing and sealing ceremony on September 4, 2026. It also described digital signatures and seals applied to the systems prepared for that election.
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Those are oversight and integrity procedures: authorized parties can inspect the code during the stated period, and cryptographic checks help determine whether prepared files match the versions sealed by the electoral authority. They are not proof that vulnerabilities are impossible, nor do they settle every broader debate about election security. The claims here are the TSE’s description of its process.
Linux election software in the Australian Capital Territory
Brazil is not the only election-related example. International IDEA reports that electronic-voting and vote-counting software in the Australian Capital Territory was built using Linux open-source software and has been used there since 2001.
The jurisdiction is important: the Australian Capital Territory is a subnational territory, not the whole country of Australia. The example also concerns the software used to conduct electronic voting and counting; it should not automatically be read as a claim that every Australian voting machine uses Linux.
Why some electronic voting machines do not use an operating system
Electronic voting does not imply Linux—or even a conventional operating system. India’s Election Commission describes its electronic voting machines as standalone embedded devices with no operating system.
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In such a design, firmware and application logic can run directly on the machine’s electronics rather than through a general-purpose OS. That architecture may limit the software surface exposed to the device, while a Linux-based design can provide mature drivers, libraries, process isolation and development tools. Neither description alone proves that one country’s system is more secure; security depends on the complete hardware, software, configuration, testing and oversight model.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.What “Linux is everywhere” should mean
Linux can occupy several different roles, and articles often blur them:
| Role | Example in this story | What the evidence establishes |
|---|---|---|
| Device operating system | Uenux in Brazil’s electronic voting machines | The TSE defines Uenux as a Linux distribution containing the kernel and supporting components. |
| Election application platform | Brazilian information, receipt, transmission and vote-totalization systems | TSE documentation identifies these systems as running in Linux environments. |
| Electronic-voting and counting software | Australian Capital Territory | International IDEA reports Linux open-source software was used there from 2001. |
| Non-Linux embedded architecture | India’s EVMs | The Election Commission of India describes the machines as standalone and without an operating system. |
How to evaluate another “Linux runs here” claim
- Identify the layer. Ask whether Linux is the device OS, a server platform, or merely the environment used to build an application.
- Pin down the jurisdiction. Distinguish a national deployment such as Brazil’s from a state, city or territory such as the Australian Capital Territory.
- Check the date and version. Election hardware and software can change between cycles; a statement about one model or election is not automatically current forever.
- Prefer the operator’s technical record. Government documentation or an identified system operator is stronger evidence than an unsourced claim that “the machines run Linux.”
- Separate architecture from assurance. Using Linux, using no operating system, or using another platform does not by itself establish that an election is secure or insecure.
The practical takeaway
Linux’s quiet reach is real, but precision matters. Brazil’s TSE documents a Linux distribution—Uenux—inside its national electronic-voting infrastructure and reports Linux environments in supporting election systems. The Australian Capital Territory supplies a separate, subnational example of Linux-built voting and counting software. India demonstrates the opposite design choice: standalone electronic voting machines described as having no operating system.
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The useful question is therefore not simply “Does this election use Linux?” It is: which component uses it, in which jurisdiction, for which election cycle, and under what documented controls?
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