Within three days: how will the vote in the elections in September go

In a number of regions, elections at various levels, which are scheduled for mid-September this year, will be held over three days. As the head of the Central Election Commission of Russia Ella Pamfilova said, early voting in the elections will take place from 11 to 12 September. At the same time, the main voting day is scheduled for September 13.

“Early voting will be held within two days. The main voting day is September 13, but within two days - September 11 and 12 - we propose to hold an early vote, ”TASS quoted her as saying.

She recalled that the law adopted by the State Duma, allowing elections at various levels within three days, does not apply to a single voting day on September 13.

“But earlier the legislator, based on the situation that developed primarily in connection with the pandemic, gave us the opportunity, within the framework of our powers, to expand, that is, to determine the possibilities and procedure for early voting. That is, in this case, it is within our competence, and we did not fail to take advantage of this, "RIA Novosti quotes Pamfilova.

She explained the decision on the three-day voting by the "requirement of the time", recalling that the epidemiological situation in the regions of Russia is different and it is necessary to take all possible security measures.

Pamfilova noted that on September 11 and 12, polling stations will work from 8:00 to 20:00, "that is, full 12 hours." The head of the CEC also clarified that the three-day voting is planned to be held in 41 Russian regions.

“We do not take all regions, we will have different kinds of campaigns in 83 regions. But we have developed and propose to adopt this procedure (early voting on September 11 and 12. - RT ) for 41 regions, "she said.

Pamfilova emphasized that in these subjects, the procedure for early voting must be applied "at the by-elections of the State Duma deputies, elections of the highest officials of the constituent entities of the Russian Federation, the main elections of deputies of the legislative and representative bodies of power of the constituent entities of the Russian Federation and the main elections to local governments in the capitals of the constituent entities of the Russian Federation" ...

• RIA News
• © Press Service of the Central Election Commission of the Russian Federation

In addition, the CEC has planned an experiment on electronic remote voting in two regions.

“We are continuing the experiment on electronic remote voting, most likely, we have identified two regions,” the CEC chairman explained.

According to her, the experiment will be carried out only if the Ministry of Telecom and Mass Communications and Rostelecom confirm the readiness of the corresponding infrastructure.

As a reminder, in September 83 constituent entities of Russia will hold elections at various levels, and as a result, about 77 thousand seats will be replaced. In four regions, by-elections of deputies of the State Duma will be held, in 11 - elections of deputies of legislative assemblies, in 18 - direct elections of senior officials.

Recall that on July 21, the State Duma adopted a law on multi-day voting in elections at all levels. It will be possible to vote according to the law within a few days, but no more than three. The format of such a vote will apply not only to local, but also to the Duma elections. Counting of votes will begin immediately after the closure of polling stations on the last day of voting.

The decision to hold a vote within a few days must be taken by the relevant election commission within ten days after the appointment of an election and cannot be revised. 

It should be noted that earlier Ella Pamfilova called September an unsuccessful month for holding a single voting day, and suggested postponing it in the future.

“Now, when the law is being adopted, it is imperative to take into account ... for the future - The single voting day must be postponed, because the most unfortunate month, which may be, is September. This is the beginning of the school year, we have a lot of teachers (on commissions - RT ), "she said.

On July 1, a nationwide vote on amendments to the Constitution took place in Russia. The Russians could vote within a week - from June 25 to July 1. At the same time, residents of Moscow and the Nizhny Novgorod region were given the opportunity to vote remotely using electronic bulletins in a pilot mode.

On July 1, it was possible to vote on amendments to the Constitution of the Russian Federation not only in Russia, but also abroad.

At the same time, the human rights ombudsman Tatyana Moskalkova said that the participants of the electronic voting liked this form of expression of will.

“I proceed from the requests that come to me: people liked the long voting, they liked the opportunity to use electronic means of communication when voting,” explained Moskalkova.