Brazil's 142 million registered voters are casting their ballots at the country's 450,000 polling stations. Voting is obligatory for literate citizens between 18 and 70 years of age. The voting system is fully automated, with electronic fingerprint identification and digital transmission of results. While in the 1989 presidential elections it took nine days before the final rally was announced, today the country will know the preliminary results three hours after polls close in the western states. Stephanie Kennedy reports from Rio de Janeiro. teleSUR
