Over 2 million Russians apply for remote voting in State Duma elections

© ООО «Региональные новости»

More than 2 million Russian citizens have applied to participate in the remote electronic voting (REV), according to the Ministry of Digital Development, Communications and Mass Media of the Russian Federation. The online voting format will be available during the upcoming elections, which will take place in Russia from September 18 to 20.

During this period, various levels of elections will be held — from the election of State Duma deputies to regional and municipal elections. The opportunity to vote online will be available to residents of 32 regions of the country.

To participate in REV, it is necessary to submit an application in advance through the "Gosuslugi" (State Services) portal. To date, about 2 million voters have already done so.

The regions with the highest number of applications are:

• Moscow Region — about 389,000 applications;
• Altai Krai — 187,000;
• Sverdlovsk Region — 179,000;
• Rostov Region — 169,000;
• Chuvash Republic — 108,000.

In addition to remote voting, citizens have access to the "Mobile Voter" service, which allows them to choose a convenient polling station in advance if they will be away from their place of residence on election days. This service has already been used by more than 480,000 Russians.

Residents of all regions where elections to the State Duma are being held can choose a polling station in any Russian region. In 56 regions participating in regional elections, voters can choose a polling station within the corresponding electoral district.

Furthermore, residents of 6 regions will be able to vote for their regional leader at special polling stations in Moscow if they happen to be in the capital on election days.

Voters can change their chosen method of participation in the elections until 23:59 Moscow time on September 14. Before this deadline, it is possible to withdraw an application for REV, cancel the selected polling station, or change a previous decision through the "Gosuslugi" portal.

After this period, it will no longer be possible to change the voting format.