David Kankiya
coordinator of the "Voice" movement in the Krasnodar region

Coercion to vote is gross violation Russian Constitution. The principle of secret voting means that no one except the voter himself has the right to know about the content of his personal expression of will and no one has the right to put pressure on the voter. IN international law This principle is enshrined in Art. 21 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, and in Russian legislation, in particular, in Art. 81 of the Constitution of the Russian Federation and Art. 1 Federal Law “On elections of deputies of the State Duma”.

In practice, it turns out that Russians, including Krasnodar residents, are forced by the leadership to attend polling stations en masse.

State employees - employees - are most often at risk municipal enterprises, school teachers, doctors, officials, as well as students. They may be forced to vote for a particular candidate or party and then report back by providing a ballot with the “correctly” ticked. In addition, public sector employees are required, for example, to receive an absentee certificate and participate in the so-called “carousel”, when multiple voting takes place using an absentee certificate at several polling stations.

Unfortunately, during this election campaign we have repeatedly received signals from different regions of the country that workers are being forced to vote. This practice is also widespread in the Krasnodar region. It is no coincidence that CEC Chairman Ella Pamfilova at the CEC meeting on September 7 called Krasnodar region among regions where administrative resources are actively used.

Any sane person needs to remember that no one can control who you give preference to in the voting booth. There are no hidden video cameras, and no one will ever be able to identify you from your ballot. All promises to punish for “wrong” voting are bluff and intimidation.

There are several techniques for reporting if you are forced to vote. For example, you can use a piece of black thread that simulates a mark on a ballot. Or you can spoil the ballot after taking the photo by marking multiple candidates. There are many similar instructions on the Internet. If you are unable to resist pressure from your superiors, then this is a possible way out for you.

At the same time, it is worth remembering that if you “bend in” once, the employer will allow himself to continue to mock you. You will be forced to go as an extra to rallies or cleanup days. Sooner or later you will be forced to commit malfeasance, because you have already sacrificed your right to vote.

There are many ways to report being pressured to vote.

A citizen has a large number of opportunities to report that he is being forced to vote. There is an electronic form of the Rostrudinspektsiya through which you can send a message. It will be unpleasant for the employer if an inspector visits him, because at the same time it can find a lot of other violations.

IN Lately The "Map of Violations" began to receive reports of forced voting. In this regard, Golos has prepared a memo for those who are illegally forced to go to the polls.

If the administration of your enterprise forces you and your colleagues to come to vote on September 18:

• requires obtaining an absentee ballot;
• unreasonably declares September 18 a working day in order to verify the fact of participation in voting;
• obliges workers to photograph the ballot;
• obliges workers to submit lists of family members or acquaintances who will also take part in the vote;
• obliges to take part in any campaign events;
• threatens employees who do not vote with any sanctions;
• promises any incentives for voting;

then your company is violating Russian legislation , writes “Voice”.

Participation of a Russian citizen in elections is free and voluntary. No one has the right to force him to participate or not to participate in elections, or to interfere with his free expression of will (Clause 3, Article 3 No. 67-FZ, Article 1 No. 20-FZ). Obstruction of freedom of expression is subject to criminal liability under Article 141 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation.

First of all, the administration cannot force employees to take any actions not provided for in the employment contract. This is a violation of labor legislation (Article 60 Labor Code; For violation, the enterprise and its management may be fined under Art. 5.27 of the Code of Administrative Offenses).

Further, no one, including the administration of an enterprise, can force a voter to participate (or not participate) in voting, or, moreover, to vote for a specific candidate. This is a violation of the election legislation (clause 3 of Article 3 of the Federal Law of June 12, 2002 No. 67-FZ “On the Basic Guarantees of Electoral Rights and the Right to Participate in a Referendum of Citizens Russian Federation"; this violation may even entail criminal liability according to Art. 141 of the Criminal Code).

No one, including the administration or trade union organization of an enterprise, has the right to promise voters bonuses or any other material benefits (including in the form of time off, etc.) for participating in voting (regardless of whether such a bonus is related to the results voting or not). This is also a violation of election legislation (Article 56 of Law 67-FZ), and in some cases also of tax legislation (Article 270 of the Tax Code).

1. Record all facts indicating violations. Shoot video, make audio recordings of any actions officials enterprises confirming the fact of violations:

• requirements to obtain an absentee certificate or deposit it with the administration;
• the requirement to go to work in order to collectively go to vote;
• a promise of punishment to those who do not come to vote, or rewards to those who voted, and so on.

If it was not possible to make a record, you can draw up a collective act stating that an official of the enterprise required certain actions from you:

1. Do not forget to note where, when and under what circumstances the recording was made or the photograph was taken.

2. Report violations of labor laws to the Rostrudinspektsiya via the website, or by submitting an application to the local inspection department in person or by mail

3. Regardless of this, report violations of election legislation to the election commission on the website of the election commission of your region or on the website of the Central Election Commission of Russia

4. You can notify the prosecutor’s office about any violations of citizens’ rights – both labor and electoral – by contacting the nearest department through the website

5. Regardless of this, submit information to the public control website “Map of Election Violations” or by calling 8 800 333-33-50.

Golos notes that the Memo on the legal fight against violations of the law can be downloaded in pdf format.

As the presidential elections approach, more and more information appears in the media that at Russian enterprises (and not only state-owned ones) employees are forced to go and vote. Sometimes specifically for Vladimir Putin, and sometimes with the aim of increasing turnout.

For example, today I learned that in Yaroslavl region employees of state-owned enterprises were required to monitor the attendance of their subordinates by sending out instructions on how to use a special reporting service created for this purpose.

“MBH Media” also wrote a short instruction on what you can do in a situation if you are under pressure. The recommendations were drawn up jointly with the lawyer of the Citizen Observer movement, Alexey Ovchinnikov.

We remind you that informing Russian citizens that March 18 is voting day is completely legal, but forcing them to vote - no matter for a specific candidate or for any one - is illegal. The least that should threaten those who do this in relation to their subordinates is administrative liability under Article 5.11 of the Code of Administrative Offenses (conducting campaigning using the advantages of official position), but in a good way, this violates Article 141 of the Criminal Code (obstruction of the exercise of electoral rights).

Why, if you refuse to go to vote, you cannot be fired

There are not many reasons why you could be fired. And among them there is nothing like “refusal to vote in elections.”

Your organization has the right to terminate the contract with you if you have been reprimanded for absenteeism or tardiness several times in a row. Moreover, you can only be fired under this article in this way: first you must be asked to indicate good reason for lateness or absenteeism, if it is not there, then you must be given a disciplinary sanction (reprimand), and after the second sanction the contract can be terminated. The second reason may be labor mismatch. But even here, not everything is so simple: in order to find out that you are unsuitable for the position you hold, you need to assemble an certification commission with the participation of the deputy director of the company, an employee of the HR department, and a representative of the trade union. Even if her conclusion is negative, you should be offered another position before dismissal (albeit from those that will be free). The third reason may be the disclosure of corporate secrets. What exactly cannot be transferred to third parties is written in your employment contract. There is definitely no ban on disclosing information that your leadership is involved in depriving Russians of the opportunity to express their political will.

Where to write and what to do

It depends on situation. If they tell you that you have to go to the polls, but do not threaten you, it would be wiser to make it public anonymously. Save the message that you may have received, take a video or record the words of the leadership - get confirmation. Send them to the media and human rights activists. For example, you can use the “Map of Violations” and contact representatives of the “Voice”, “Citizen Observer” and “Sonar” movements.

If you are threatened with dismissal, deprivation of a bonus, or other “problems,” then you may well write a statement to the police, the prosecutor’s office and the Central Election Commission. Important: it is best to write such statements to the police and prosecutor’s office in handwritten form in the most unconventional format - this way the departments will not be able to say that you succumbed to the provocation of public activists, but in fact no crime occurred at your enterprise. You can contact the CEC by filling out a standard form.

The maximum period for consideration of applications by the police and prosecutor's office is a month. Don't forget to save the notification slip when submitting. If there is no answer, you should contact the district court at your place of residence.

Whether or not to quarrel directly with your superiors is your choice, but do not forget that management can be told in no uncertain terms that being forced to vote is a criminal offense. Remember, what happens in your company happens everywhere. To date, the “Map of Violations” project has registered 716 election violations, and there are still 10 days to go.

Forcing elections is illegal

They want to introduce criminal liability for forcing Russians to vote. A group of State Duma deputies from the LDPR faction introduced a bill aimed at protecting voters from being forced to participate in elections (or, accordingly, refuse to vote) and vote for specific candidates. It is proposed to further limit the possibilities for such arbitrariness of superiors in relation to subordinates and establish criminal liability for this.

By the way, a number of countries (USA, Sweden, Germany, Holland, Denmark, Switzerland, Bulgaria, Estonia and even Ukraine and China) have introduced provisions into their criminal legislation that specify the crime of coercion to vote in elections; in most of these countries, the violator faces imprisonment for up to two years or a large fine. The authors of the project propose to supplement the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation with a new article 141.2 - “Violation of the freedom of expression of citizens during elections or referendums.” According to it, for forcing a citizen of the Russian Federation to vote (refuse to do so), the perpetrator will be fined 200 thousand rubles or disqualified for a period of 2 to 5 years, or punished with compulsory labor for up to 180 hours (correctional labor for up to 1 year).

If such a crime is committed against two or more persons, as well as by prior conspiracy or organized group, the perpetrators will be fined 500 thousand rubles, sentenced to compulsory labor for up to 240 hours (correctional labor for up to 2 years), or arrested for up to six months. Otherwise they will simply be sent to prison for a term of 2 to 5 years.

The chances of this bill being adopted are minimal, since it is not supported by the Russian government. According to officials, because its rules are imprecise, unclear and vague, and this may “give rise to the possibility of ambiguous interpretation and arbitrary application.” And most importantly, according to the Cabinet of Ministers, the authors of the project did not provide arguments “about the insufficiency of the established measures of responsibility for these acts, as well as convincing legal arguments for the need for their special criminalization.”

Internet interview
member of the Central Election Commission of the Russian Federation
Dubrovina Elena Pavlovna

February 14, 2008 at 12 o'clock an online interview was held with a member of the Central Election Commission of the Russian Federation Dubrovina Elena Pavlovna.

Internet interview topic: "Legal aspect of forced voting".

The online interview was organized by the Garant company. The company "Garant" is registered as an Information Agency (certificate: ИА N 77-14642). When distributing messages and materials of the News Agency by other means mass media a reference to the Information Agency is required (Article 23 of the Law “On the Mass Media”).
The journal "Legislation" takes part in the preparation of the transcript.
The host of the online interview is Natalia Ivanovna Karpunina (Garant Company).

Good afternoon, dear ladies and gentlemen! Hello, dear Internet audience!
We begin our online interview. Let me introduce our guest today, Elena Pavlovna Dubrovina, a member of the Central Election Commission of the Russian Federation.

The election procedure has special features that are determined, on the one hand, by political, economic and social characteristics, on the other hand, by regulatory regulation. Based on this, studying legal framework the procedure for electing elected bodies and officials solves a number of problems that are relevant to our time.

The state actively initiates changes to electoral legislation both at the level of the Russian Federation and at the level of the constituent entities of the Russian Federation. To the basic principles of electoral law in modern conditions can be attributed to: universality, equal nature of elections, direct and indirect elections, secret ballot. In Russia, these principles are legislatively ensured by the Constitution of 1993 and the Federal Laws “On Basic Guarantees of the Electoral Rights of Citizens”, “On the Election of the President of the Russian Federation”, electoral laws adopted in the constituent entities of the Russian Federation, as well as a number of articles in the Criminal Code, the Code administrative offenses and some other laws.

By the time our interview began, several dozen different, interesting and problematic issues, which we want to offer to our distinguished guest today.

Presenter: Recently, you can increasingly hear information in the media that the so-called forced voting technology is gaining momentum in Russia. Please tell us what kind of technology this is and what is its essence?

Dubrovina E.P.: I wouldn't say that this technology is gaining momentum or any actions or measures are being taken to introduce compulsory voting in our country, since the current legislation does not provide for this, but, on the contrary, everywhere - both in the Constitution and the Federal Law "On Basic Guarantees of Electoral Rights" - it is said about free elections. Conversely, there is a prohibition on coercion to vote.

Presenter: Please tell me what caused the discussion about the need to introduce the institution of compulsory voting and who was the main initiator of the introduction of this compulsory voting?

Dubrovina E.P.: As I have already said, I, as a member of the Central Election Commission, do not feel there is any process to introduce compulsory voting, and they started talking about it when it was decided to remove the norm providing for a turnout threshold from the legislation. If you remember, the law provided for the need for more than 50% voter turnout for the elections to take place in the gubernatorial elections (when regional heads were elected). And a 25% voter turnout was necessary for the elections of deputies to take place. State Duma etc. Now the law does not provide for a minimum turnout, so how many voters come, how many vote, the election results will be determined from this number. After the abolition of the voter turnout threshold in 2004, there were cases when local government bodies, in particular, deputies municipalities small settlements, were elected with a turnout of up to 10 people at polling stations. Of course, such cases had a resonance, they were discussed and people talked about the dubious legitimacy of such elected officials. Actually, the family came and voted for their member of the household - and now he is already a deputy. I believe that these cases are isolated, but very significant, and they are even necessary for people to see and understand that their trip to the polling station is not just entertainment, but a necessity. Because whoever is chosen will manage - including their affairs: make decisions, participate in decisions that affect their lives. I think that such cases will play a positive role in making people consciously go to vote in the next elections.

Presenter: Do you think that the introduction of this institution clearly contradicts the provisions of paragraph 3 of Art. 3 of the Constitution of the Russian Federation, namely that “the highest direct expression of the power of the people is a referendum and free elections”, as well as part 3 of Article 29 of the Constitution of the Russian Federation - “No one can be forced to express their opinions and beliefs or to renounce them”?

Dubrovina E.P.: I want to say once again that, of course, this contradicts both the spirit and letter of the Constitution... Our 32nd article of the Constitution of the Russian Federation says: “Citizens of the Russian Federation have the right to elect and be elected to bodies state power, to local government bodies, as well as to participate in a referendum." The Constitution of the Russian Federation declares a right, not an obligation. The same is stated in the federal law“On the Basic Guarantees of Electoral Rights,” which I have already mentioned. For example, Article 3, which contains the principles of holding elections and referendums in the Russian Federation, establishes that the participation of a citizen of the Russian Federation in elections and referendums is free and voluntary. No one has the right to influence a citizen of the Russian Federation in order to force him to participate or not to participate in elections or a referendum, or to prevent his free expression of will. That is, the law directly prohibits influencing a voter in order to force him to go to the polling station or, conversely, force him to stay at home if he wants to go and express his will, and it is also prohibited to influence the will by force. Winning over voters is the job of candidates, not government agencies authorities or superiors at work.
We had complaints that at enterprises managers force people to vote, threaten them with deprivation of bonuses or even loss of their jobs, housing queues, places in kindergarten etc. Students complained that they were being intimidated by the fact that their exams, tests, coursework, etc. would not be accepted, that they would be expelled, or that they would not be provided with a hostel. This is coercion. In my opinion, this is a very serious violation that must be combated, since it distorts the very idea of ​​elections. If a person is guided by fear for himself, for his loved ones, for his future - what kind of elections are these? This goes against the nature of democratic elections. I have been involved in elections for many years and I believe that this necessary tool for a democratic state, and effective, effective tool. But they need to be used correctly.

Presenter: In this case, what should citizens do if such imbalances occur?

Dubrovina E.P.: I believe that, first of all, people should, out of self-esteem, resist such pressure, declare that they are citizens of Russia, are under the protection of their own state and will not tolerate such violence against their person. You must have a certain civil courage, a civic position, self-respect and a sense of dignity. In any case, it is necessary to tell your leader that his demands are illegal, his pressure is illegal, that this is a personal matter for each citizen. And if the pressure continues, it is necessary to complain to the election commissions, because it is we - the system of election commissions - that were created in order to ensure the constitutional rights of citizens. Citizens have the right to file complaints about such actions by officials judiciary. At the very least, they state the fact of illegal influence on the voter. Moreover, I know that there were cases when commissions participated in the illegal counting of voters. The voter who voted was given something like thank you letter, or some kind of postcard, which he had to bring back and give at the request of the leader, thereby confirming the fact of his vote. It is unacceptable. This needs to be stopped.

Presenter: We have several questions about this, in particular from students who needed to get an absentee ballot, go to specially designated polling stations at the university and vote there. Moreover, they gave a certain piece of paper, it had to be taken to the dean’s office. If such paper was not brought, then they would have big problems both with the session and with the tests.

Dubrovina E.P.: You see, the use of force is always easier than painstaking work, in this case, convincing students of the need to go vote. Such work must be carried out systematically. And most importantly, in my opinion, and I always say this, authorities, local self-government bodies need to take all actions to ensure that all citizens living in the relevant territory experience the positive results of the work of these bodies during the period of their powers, and then the population will be ready to support them, including in elections. People will understand that if I don’t vote for this one now, then someone else will come and it will be worse for me. It's corny, but it's the most important point. When we travel around the regions and talk with people, it is obvious that the authorities are assessed by the condition of the roads (roads are of concern to many people, townspeople and residents rural areas), how regularly they pay wages, what is the size of pensions, what are the prices for goods, what is the range of goods in their stores, etc. And they say that this is true, but that it was worse or, conversely, better. Here is the main assessment. This is the measure of when people want to go vote or not.

Presenter: But at the same time, we received another question, which has a slightly different point of view. In some countries, attendance at elections is compulsory. For ignoring them, the state provides fines, the size of which increases each time. Sometimes this results in large sums. If a person does not vote several times, he is removed from the voter list. In some places the measures are less stringent - in some document a note is simply made about participation in voting. The turnout is, of course, higher than ours. Maybe we can borrow this experience, what do you think?

Dubrovina E.P.: I believe that nothing should be changed too dramatically. We had a fairly long period from the 90s until 2004, when there was a line “against everyone”. There was a system of minimum turnout barriers: if fewer voters came, the elections were considered invalid. They have now been cancelled. In my opinion, we need to work in this mode, spend at least 2 electoral cycles (this is about ten years) and see what is good and what is bad. I believe that it is more natural now to introduce an application procedure for registering voters. Anyone who wants to vote declares it and is taken into account. And from here it is calculated what percentage of voters chose one candidate or another. I am categorically against fines, since part of the population now has a fairly low material level, and it is simply impossible to punish them for not coming to the polling station when they have no roads, and sometimes there is simply nothing to wear.

Presenter: Tell me, please, if we develop such an idea, which state’s institution of compulsory voting could serve as an example for the possible introduction of something similar on the territory of the Russian Federation?

Dubrovina E.P.: I think it would be possible to use some of the legislation of Austria, Belgium, Mexico, Switzerland and some other countries.

Presenter: Please tell me, if not the forced voting system itself, then perhaps some of its elements are introduced, what legal acts will regulate this process. And, in general, are there any plans to make any changes to the existing legislation, or perhaps there is a point in adopting any new regulations that will separately regulate this topic?

Dubrovina E.P.: Separate acts are certainly not required, that's for sure. It is necessary to work with current legislation. As for the compulsory participation in voting, this requires an amendment to the Constitution, which declares a right, not an obligation. If there is an obligation to serve in the army, it is written down; the obligation to vote is not written down. Compulsory participation in elections should be provided for in the Constitution. Regarding the adjustment of methods for registering voters and recording their participation in public life, in elections, then here we can consider the experience of introducing voter passports. This separate document, where a mark is placed on the participation of this citizen in the elections. When using these passports, the possibility of double voting is excluded. But another problem arises. It is important to keep in mind that citizens' rights do not depend on whether you voted or not. If there is an accounting of whether a citizen went to the polls or not, then I do not exclude the further step that those who went may be provided with some specific benefits, privileges, preferences; those who did not go, then perhaps some kind of infringement in rights in law or in person. I believe that at the moment there is no need to radically change the electoral system. It is necessary that people believe in elections, and this means that elections cannot be turned into a tool for manipulation. Elections should not be a tool for achieving narrow specific goals, but should be an engine for the development of democratic principles in society.

Presenter: And if such a passport is introduced, will it be valid upon reaching 18 years of age and for life?

Dubrovina E.P.: Yes. We do not have an upper age limit, so all citizens over 18 years of age will have to be taken into account. A database must be created for all voters. Since we currently do not have the necessary turnout limit, this means that it is premature to introduce registration of voters who came to vote. I think that this will not be used for the benefit of the voter.

Presenter: Please tell me, since this topic has been touched upon and such a discussion has begun to develop, how do you see the procedure itself, the mechanism of forced voting? How will it be carried out, what forces can be involved? Who will actually implement these actions?

Dubrovina E.P.: I wouldn’t call it forced voting, although there is a certain coloration. Rather, it is compulsory voting, i.e. the citizen’s obligation to go vote. In my opinion, there will be no special mechanisms; there will simply be a registration of those who voted. We're counting now total number voted, and there will be a personal record of voters who voted. And, accordingly, those who did not come to vote may be held administratively accountable. It will be civilized. A person receives a notification that a fine of a certain amount has been imposed on him due to the fact that he did not come to the polls. If this does not suit him, then next time he will certainly go to vote.

Presenter: Please tell me, are there any plans to introduce any sanctions for deliberately spoiled or “snatched” ballots from the polling station?

Dubrovina E.P.: I believe that here, too, we cannot go too far, we cannot impose any sanctions. I have repeatedly seen how a person who did not consider it possible for himself to vote leaves, and an observer or a member of the commission runs after him, grabs him by the sleeve and demands a ballot from him. I think this is wrong, it is a citizen's right. If he did not vote, it means that he was not convinced by the campaigning of these candidates or parties that he needed them. At the same time, why is this question raised at all, because the ballots that are handed out sometimes play a negative role, because copies and fake ballots are made from them. Or they can be used in so-called “carousels”, when a voter is given a completed ballot while still on the street, which he must place in the ballot box. And he must take out the ballot that they give him at the polling station. This is, of course, a serious violation, and it must be suppressed by election commissions and the police. I think that with the introduction of electronic voting, when there are no ballots as such, this problem will disappear by itself.

Presenter: It is possible that the introduction of fines in the future for failure to appear at elections is, to some extent, a justified and correct step of the state, in which the majority of citizens are not politically active, however, are there any plans to revise the procedure for obtaining registration certificates? As a person registered in a “remote Siberian village” and working in Moscow, it is not possible for me to obtain a registration certificate, and, therefore, due to shortcomings in the legislation, I will not take part in the elections, and if penalties are introduced, I will also be punished . Do you think this is fair?

Dubrovina E.P.: I believe that the person who asks this question, in principle, has already answered it himself, because he cannot be registered in a “dead village”, but live in Moscow. According to the registration rules, they register where they live. That is, the law gives him the right to travel throughout the country without hindrance, but, of course, he must be registered where he lives. As for registration certificates, we do not have any, but voter registration is maintained. He follows a different system. There is a voter register; data is entered into the voter register upon the proposal of the relevant authorities, in particular the migration service. I believe that there is no need to invent anything here, and such citizens simply need to resolve their registration issue. Perhaps it makes sense here to raise questions about the liberalization of registration as such. If large quantities people across the country are having trouble registering, then it's probably a registration issue, not a voting rights issue. At the same time, I should note that during elections, special polling stations (several) are created where citizens can vote without registration.

Presenter: The modern electoral system of the Russian Federation needs further improvement, and above all, to be freed from pressure from modern political parties in favor of democratic principles. What is being done in this direction and how is this process controlled so that in the future no one doubts the voluntary expression of the will of voters, and, consequently, the truth of the voting results and election results?

Dubrovina E.P.: We are only at a transitional stage in democratic society. And I believe that it depends on everyone when we can say that we are a democratic country, because pressure can only be responded to mainly by resistance. And resistance can come from self-esteem, because a person should not allow himself to be pressured. If a person allows, those who press achieve their result, it turns out vicious circle. As for political parties, unfortunately, the character trait of Russians is the lack of law-abidingness. We do not respect the law and very often break it. From the simplest things, starting with the rules traffic and consumer protection law. We don't respect ourselves when we buy a bad product and don't declare it, don't complain, just throw it away and everything is in the best case. And it is precisely here that a civic position manifests itself and a person forces others to reckon with himself, out of a sense of dignity, he does not miss, well, let’s say, some negatives, and forces everyone to consider himself, and he himself considers everyone. Using the example of, say, our electoral system I have also seen more than once when members of the election commission, especially at the lower level, try to please political parties, which dominate in this case. Moreover, one chairman of the territorial election commission hung a letter of commendation over his head for assistance in organizing and conducting elections at a certain level from one of the parties, i.e., a person who is professionally involved in elections is praised by the party for assistance in holding elections. This can be understood in two ways. Who did this person contribute to, who did this person help? What is this party only? Do you understand? And this man hangs this gratitude in the red corner, on the front wall, and is proud of it. There is no understanding that everyone should do their job and be proud that they do it with dignity according to the law, without bowing their heads.

Presenter: Currently, technical means of counting votes are being introduced in Russia. What is the meaning of this innovation? How should it be applied, in your opinion, in order to voting rights citizens were not violated?

Dubrovina E.P.: Indeed, now we, mainly as an experiment, are conducting such voting at all small quantity plots. So this is a question for the future. The undoubted advantage of such voting is that the elections are free from paperwork, because the production of ballots is quite hard work. We tried different things. Now, let’s say, a stamp is being introduced, a ballot is made from plain paper in all corners of the country, but this stamp is made only at one enterprise, and this protected stamp is sent out throughout Russia. A lot is being done to eliminate the possibility of fraud, to eliminate the possibility of replacing ballots. As for electronic voting, there will be no such difficulties with its implementation. The process of counting votes is also greatly simplified. Here the result is accumulated, and you just press the button at the right time and at the end of the voting the result is ready. The faster the result is displayed on the screen and everyone sees it, the less likely it is to change for one reason or another. This is a big plus. The downside is that voters do not yet have sustainable trust in electronics. Therefore, of course, we must move towards this slowly but surely. First, it is necessary for our people to trust the elections, so that they do not talk everywhere about falsification.

Presenter: It is also common for any technical device to fail, unfortunately.

Dubrovina E.P.: Yes, and now it happens that, for example, the lights go out during voting. And if the device is disconnected from the electrical supply, then certain difficulties immediately arise.

Presenter: That is, one way or another, you in any case believe that electronic voting is the future.

Dubrovina E.P.: The future, but not the near future.

Presenter: That is, you don’t see the prospect that in the next decade Russia will switch to universal electronic voting?

Dubrovina E.P.: I think that such a transition will not happen in the next two electoral cycles - it is very expensive. Now there are many more important issues.

Presenter: Possibilities such as voting via the Internet, by mail, and by telephone are also currently being discussed. What is your opinion on such opportunities?

Dubrovina E.P.: I believe that our country is not ready for this. Our voters are not ready for this, and neither are the commissions. I believe that it is better to develop gradually than to make some sudden leaps and then talk about poor preparation.

Presenter: Thanks a lot. Please tell me what is your forecast for voter turnout for the elections on March 2?

Dubrovina E.P.: I think that the turnout will be quite high by European standards. I believe that we should always understand that not all people have the opportunity to come and vote on this day. Therefore, to say that it is necessary to strive for 100%, in my opinion, is uncivilized. I think voter turnout will be over 50%.

Presenter: Thank you very much for the interesting and detailed answers.