Express review of the first voting day on 15 March

On the first day of voting, Golos, the Movement in defense of voters' rights, received over 260 reports of violations of electoral legislation.

Based on the Golos report, we summarize the key trends observed during the first voting day.

The top five regions by the number of reports of possible violations on the "Violation Map" on March 15 are:

1. Moscow City - 37

2. St. Petersburg - 36

3. Moscow Region - 28

4. Krasnodar Region - 24

5. Udmurtia - 15.

MAIN TRENDS OF THE FIRST VOTING DAY

1. Abnormally high turnout and signs of coercion to vote

On Friday morning, the first day of voting, reports of violations related to coercion of voters to vote, including the use of remote e-voting (REV). By the end of the day, the turnout in REV in all regions, except Moscow, exceeded 60%. The leaders were Kamchatka - 83%, Belgorod Region - 76%, Lipetsk Region - 76%, Chuvashia - 75%, Altai Region - 75%, Vologda Region - 75%, Kursk Region - 75%, Tomsk Region - 75%. Moreover, the majority of these votes were cast immediately after the start of voting - early in the morning local time.

The turnout figures at regular polling stations in many regions also indicate unnatural trends. It's difficult to explain turnout rates of over 50% on the first day, especially considering the circumstances. For instance, the Belgorod region, which came under fire, reported a turnout of 66.38%, Tuva - 62.25%, Kuzbass - 61.62%, Jewish Autonomous Oblast - 55.63%, Chechnya - 55.63%, and Kabardino-Balkaria - 52.6%. There are almost no regions with a turnout of less than 30%.

Reports of coercion are coming from both public and commercial institutions: hospitals, schools, universities, banks, etc.

2. Breakdowns in the operation of remote electronic voting (REV)

The REV system has never operated without glitches in any elections. The current ones are no exception. Both the Moscow electronic voting system and the national REV partially froze in the morning.

In Moscow, a voter reported that someone had already voted for her in the REV system. The same fact was reported by the creator of the Telegram channel "Ateo Breaking."

At the same time, Golos notes that there were no "total" and unrecoverable problems at the stage of data entry (voting) in the DEG. A significant number of technical violations are being corrected.

3. Vandalism at polling stations and deliberate spoiling of ballots

Throughout the day, reports emerged from various regions about attempts by voters to spoil ballots using coloring liquids or even set fire to polling stations. Similar incidents occurred in 15 regions across Russia. The Investigative Committee has initiated at least 13 criminal cases related to arson at polling stations and damage to ballot boxes.

This is not a new phenomenon for the Russian electoral system. The first such cases were recorded during the voting on amendments to the Russian Constitution in 2020. Back then, the troublemakers believed that something was wrong, the essence of what was happening was diluted, and at the same time, they understood that they could not influence the situation. This can be found in the materials of criminal cases initiated in 2020.

It should also be noted that some polling stations located in close proximity to the front lines came under fire. Golos movement once again points out that elections should not be held under such conditions.

4. Obstruction of public control of elections

There is practically no real observation at polling stations in the current elections. The polling stations are attended almost exclusively by observers from candidate Putin and state-controlled public chambers.

In a number of cases, election commission members and police officers attempted to prevent exit polls from being conducted outside the polling stations. Such cases were noted at least in Krasnodar, Chelyabinsk and Kazan.

Additionally, in several regions, candidates' headquarters and even the electoral commissions themselves faced difficulties accessing the "Our Choice 2024" video surveillance system. Observers at the polling stations report that even the commissions cannot access the system to ensure that the camera is working properly and everything is visible. This problem has remained until this morning.

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Throughout the electoral campaign, a total of 142 calls were received on the hotline, and 1095 reports were submitted through the "Violation Map" and other electronic communication channels.