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Chapter 7. Voting and Estimating the Results of the Elections
Article 34. Premises for voting.
1. Premises for voting shall be provided to district election commissions by the Territorial (in an autonomous territory without districts), District, City or City District administrations. If there is no possibility of using state or municipally owned buildings, the administration should lease the buildings from private owners. Payments and compensation for losses shall be paid by election commissions out of the budgetary funds allocated for holding the elections.
2. The premises for voting shall have a hall with booths for voting or rooms suitable for this purpose. The entrances to and exits from booths or rooms for secret voting, as well as the path from them to the ballot boxes shall be within the field of vision of the election commission and the observers.
Article 35. Ballots.
1. In elections to the State Duma, every voter shall receive two ballots of different shapes that will be established by the Central Election Commission.
2. A ballot for electing deputies from the federal constituency shall contain the names (in alphabetical order) of the election association that have submitted registered federal lists or candidates for deputies of the State Duma, mentioning the names of public associations that are members of each of these election associations. Below the name of each election association there shall be printed the surnames, names and patronymics of the first three candidates from the federal list of candidates nominated by it. If an election association has divided its federal list during the registration into regional groups, the ballot shall also contain the surnames, names and patronymics of the first three candidates, which are placed in the given list in the appropriate regional group of candidates. If the list, divided into regional groups during the registration, does not contain the candidates not included in either of the regional groups, a ballot shall have the names of candidates only from the appropriate regional group. To the right of every name of an election association, there shall be printed an empty square. At the end of the list of the election associations, there shall be printed a line: «against-all-lists», and an empty square to the right of it.
3. A ballot for a one-mandate constituency for electing deputies to the State Duma shall contain (in alphabetical order) the surnames, names and patronymics of all candidates registered in the constituency and information about them mentioned in Paragraph 2 of Article 24 of the present Regulations. An empty square shall be printed to the right of the information about each candidate. At the end of the list of the candidates there shall be printed the line: «against-all-candidates», and to the right of it and empty square.
4. Each ballot shall have instructions for a voter explaining the procedure for completing it.
5. Ballots shall be published in the Russian language, and in the republics, autonomous regions and autonomous areas also in the languages îf these entities. If ballots for a given voting district are published in two or more languages, the text shall be printed on each ballot in all these languages.
6. Ballots for electing candidates in the federal constituency shall be printed according to instructions of the Central Election Commission and be sent to the constituency election commissions not later than 20 days before the elections. Ballots for the elections in one-mandate constituency for the elections to the State Duma shall be printed according to instructions of corresponding constituency election commissions. The district election commission shall receive ballots from the constituency election commissions not later than three days before the elections. In every constituency the number of complete sets of ballots sent by a district election commission shall not exceed the number of the registered voters in the voting district by more than 2 per cent. The reverse side of the received ballots shall have the seal of the district election commission or the signatures of two of its members.
7. In case of the removal of some candidates or federal lists of candidates of some election associations before the day of the elections, but after the printing of the ballots, the district or constituency election commissions or on the instructions of the appropriate election commissions, shall cross out the information about the removed candidates or the removed federal lists of corresponding election associations, or shall print new ballots.
Article 36. The procedure for voting.
1. Voting shall take ðlace on the days of the election from 8 a.m. till 10 p.m., local time. If all registered voters in the given voting district have already voted, the district election commission shall have the right to stop the voting before 10 ð.m.
2. A voter who has to leave his place of permanent residence 15 days before the elections and will not be there on the day of the elections shall have the right to vote ahead of time by filling the ballots in the premises of the constituency election commission (4-15 days before the elections) or in the premises of the district election commission (1-3 days before the elections) under the conditions of secret ballot. If an elector votes in the premises of the constituency election commission, the reverse side of the ballots he receives shall have the seal of the given constituency election commission. In this case, the voter shall put his completed ballots into an envelope, seal it and submit to a member of the constituency or district election commission on duty. The place where the envelope was sealed shall be stamped by the given district or constituency commission or shall be signed by two members of the district election commission. The constituency election commissions for the elections to the State Duma shall send the lists of the voters who have cast in their votes and the envelopes with their ballots to the appropriate district election commission simultaneously with the complete sets of ballots. The district election commission shall mark in its voters those have voted in this way.
3. At 8 o'clock on election day, the chairman of each district election commission shall proclaim the beginning of the voting and show empty ballot boxes to the members of the commission and the voters and observers present; after that the empty ballot boxes shall be sealed. Then the chairman of the district election commission shall open the envelope with the completed ballots that have been left by voters who have temporarily left the place of their permanent residence, then he shall put the ballot taken from these envelopes into the ballot boxes; after that, he shall Invite the voters to receive their ballots. The number of the envelopes shall be announced and entered in the minutes, of the election commission.
4. On receiving a ballot, a voter shall write down the series end the number of his identification card or passport and puts his or her signature in the list of voters. A voter who cannot do it himself shall have the right to use the assistance of another person (not a member of the commission) whose name shall be also written in the list of voters.
5. Ballots shall be completed in a special booth or room in which no person other than the voter shall be present. A person who is unable to fill out the ballot himself shall have the right to invite into the booth or room for secret voting any other person, excluding members of the election commission or observers.
6. On each ballot for the elections tî the State Duma that contain the enumeration of federal lists of candidates, a voter shall put a cross in the empty square opposite the name of the election association for whose federal list of candidates he is voting, or in the square opposite the line saying: «against-all-lists». On the ballots for the elections in a one-mandate (two-mandate) constituency for the elections to the State Duma, a voter shall put a cross, or any other sign, in the empty square opposite the name of the candidate for whom he is voting or in the square opposite the line saying: «against-all-candidates».
7. After completing the ballot and leaving the booth or room for secret voting, each voter shall drop his ballot into a ballot box. The ballot boxes shall be within the field of vision of the members of the district election commission and observers.
8. The chairman of the district election commission shall see to it that order is maintained in the voting premises. His instructions shall be binding on all those present in the ðremises. In case of the absence of the chairman, his functions shall be carried out by his deputy, and in case of the absence of his deputy - by the secretary or any other member of the commission authorized by the latter.
9. In cases when citizens who have the right to take part in the elections, cannot come to the polling station due to bad health or for or anó other valid reasons, the district election commission, in accordance with the voters' written or îãal applications, shall arrange for voting in the place where these citizens are at that moment in the presence of observers, if the latter are present at the polling station for this purpose special portable ballot boxes shall be used. There shall be no more than two such ballot boxes at the polling station. The oral application shall be confirmed by the voter in a written form after the arrival of members îf the district election commission. In this case, the members of the district election commission who visit voters in accordance with their applications shall be given the number of ballots corresponding to the number of written or oral applications and shall sign for them. The names of the voters who voted at home shall be entered into a separate additional list in which the voter signs his name after receiving the ballot, and the member of the commission after giving them.
Article 37. Counting of votes in the voting district
1. When the time for voting expires, the chairman of the district election commission shall announce that the vote is over. After this, only persons already present at the polling station shall be able to get ballots and cast their votes.
2. Before starting to count the votes, the chairman of the district election commission shall cancel the unused ballots in the presence of all members of the commission and announce their number to be recorded in a report, after which he shall check on whether the seals on the ballot boxes are intact and open them. All the bullets extracted from the ballot boxes shall be distributed among the constituencies.
3. First, invalid ballots in each constituency shall be separated. Ballots made unofficially, bearing no stamp of the district or constituency election commission or no signatures of the two members of the election commission and those on which it is impossible to ascertain the voter's will, particularly ballots where a cross or any other sign or signs have been put in more than one square, or not put in any square at all, shall be qualified as invalid.
4. The district election commission shall draw up a report on the result of the vote in each constituency where voting has been held. The report shall indicate:
a. the total number of voters registered in the voting district;
b. for each of the constituency comprising the voting district in question:
c. the number of unused ballots cancelled;
d. the number of ballots found in the box;
e. the number of invalid ballots:
f. the number of valid ballots;
g. in one-mandate election district;
h. the names and initials of the candidates on the ballot;
i. the number of valid votes cast for each candidate
j. the number of valid votes cast against each candidate;
k. the number of votes cast against all candidates;
l. in the federal constituency;
m. the names of election associations that have put forward federal lists of candidates;
n. the number of valid votes cast for each list;
o. the number of votes cast against each list;
p. the number of votes cast against all lists;
q. the complaints and applications filed with the commission and decisions taken on them
5. The report shall be drawn up in two copies end signed by all members of the commission. Members of the commission who disagree with the report in whole or in ðart shall be entitled to append d their own opinions to the report.
6. One copy îf the report of the district election commission shall be sent to each of the corresponding constituency election commissions, and one copy of the report together with the sealed ballots shall be kept with the secretary or the commission until its work is over. The report on the results of the vote in the federal constituency shall be forwarded to the Central Election Commission through the appropriate constituency election commission.
7. Election documents including ballots shall be passed on to the corresponding constituency election commissions not later than 10 days from the official announcement of the results of the vote.
Article 38. Definition of results of the vote in the federal constituency in elections to the State Duma
1. The Central Election Commission, immediately upon the receipt of reports from all district election commissions, shall count the votes cast in the federal constituency in elections to the State Duma by summing up the data contained in the reports from the district election
2. The federal lists for whom less than five percent of valid votes have bean cast shall be excluded from the distribution of deputy's mandates.
3. If five percent of valid votes are not cast for any of the federal lists of candidates, elections in the federal constituency shall be recognized as not having been held.
4. Each of the federal lists of candidates for which more than five percent of votes have been cast shall get a number of deputy's mandates proportionate to the number of valid votes for it and defined by the methods contained in Supplement 3 to the present Regulation. If the list of an election association was registered as divided into regional groups, deputy's mandate received by the list shall go first of all to candidates not included in any of the groups, the remaining mandates shall go to candidates from the regional groups, with each of the groups getting from the total number of the remaining deputy's mandates a number proportionate to the share of votes cast for the list in the corresponding Federation member or a group of Federation members in mandate aggregate number of votes cast for the list. This number of mandates shall also be defined by the methods contained in the above Supplement. In distributing deputies the latter shall be given to deputies in accordance with the order in which they appear on the list. Candidates elected to the State Duma in one-mandate constituencies must be excluded from the count before the distribution of mandates begins.
a) the Central Election Commission shall draw up a report indicating the following:
b) the total number of voters registered in the federal constituency;
c) the number of ballots issued in the constituency;
d) the number of invalid ballots;
e) the number of ballots recognized as valid;
f) the names of election associations that put forward the registered federal lists of candidates and the number of votes cast for each of the lists, as well as the number of votes cast under the against-all-lists column;
g) the surnames and initials of candidates elected from each of the federal lists
h) the complaints and applications filed with the commission and decisions taken on them.
5. The Central Election Commission shall recognize election in a federal constituency as invalid if the violations of the present Regulations committed in holding them prevent the commission from reliably ascertaining the will of the voters.
Article 39. Defining the results of the vote in a one-mandate constituency in elections to the State Duma
1. The constituency election commission in elections to the State Duma, immediately upon the receipt of reports from all the district election commissions of the constituency, shall count the votes cast in the one-mandate constituency in elections to the State Duma by summing up the data contained in the reports.
2. The constituency election commission in elections to the State Duma shall draw up a report indicating the following;
a. the total number of voters registered in the constituency;
b. the number of issued ballots;
c. the number of ballots issued;
d. the number of invalid ballots;
e. the number of ballots recognized valid;
f. the surnames and initials of candidates entered in the ballots and the number of valid votes cast for each of them; if the surnames and initials of two or more candidates are identical, additional data identifying them shall be given;
g. the number of votes cast under the against-all-candidates column];
h. one of the following decisions;
I. recognizing as elected the candidate for whom the largest number of valid votes has been cast. If in accordance with Paragraph 12 of Article 24 or Paragraph 3 of Article 39 of the present Law, a one-mandate constituency is converted into a two-mandate one, the two candidates for whom the largest number of valid votes has been cast shall be recognized as elected. In the event of an equal number of votes having been cast for more than one candidate, the candidate who was registered earlier shall be recognized as elected;
II. recognizing the vote in the constituency as invalid, if violations of the present Regulations committed prevent the commission from reliably ascertaining the will of the voters.
III. recognizing the elections in the constituency as not having been held if the number of votes cast under the against-all-candidates column exceed the number of votes cast for the candidates with the largest number of votes, if the turnout ix less than 25 percent of qualified voters;
i. the complaints and applications filed with the commission and decisions taken on them.
3. The report shall be made in two copies and signed after information is received from the Central Election Commission or whether the elections in the federal constituency have been recognized as having been held and valid. One copy of the report shall be immediately forwarded to the Central Election Commission, and the other one kept with the secretary of the commission until its work is over and a new constituency election commission is set up.
Article 40. Ascertaining the overall election returns
1. Based on its own report in the results of the vote in the federal constituency and the reports of the constituency election commissions in elections to the State Duma, the Central Election Commission shall within ten days of the receipt of those reports, ascertain and make public the overall election returns.
2. The Central Election Commission shall declare invalid the vote in one-mandate constituencies in elections to the State Duma, if it establishes that the violations of the present Regulation committed in those constituencies in the elections prevent it from reliably ascertaining the will of the voters.
3. The Central Election Commission shall set new elections in one-mandate constituencies, where the vote has been considered not tî have been held or have been rendered invalid. The Central Election Commission may reduce the time limit for new election actions by no more than one-third. The Central Election Commission may order in such instances the setting up of new district and constituency election commissions.
Article 41. The registration of elected deputies
1. The respective election commission, after signing a report on the election returns, shall notify candidates who have been elected as deputies of the State Duma. In accordance with provisions of the present Regulations, candidates elected as deputies of the State Duma shall be obliged within three days' time to inform the corresponding election commission that they have given up duties incompatible with the status of deputy of the State Duma.
2. The respective election commission shall formally announce the election returns on the basis of a report on the results of elections to the State Duma not later than five days after the signing of the report, register elected deputies of the State Duma and issue their certificates of election, providing they have complied with the provisions of Paragraph 1 of the present Article.
Chapter 8. Settlement of Complaints and Resolution of Disputes
Article 42. Appeals against Lists of Voters
1. Any citizen of the Russian Federation eligible under Paragraph 1 and not covered by Paragraph 3 of Article 2 of the present Regulations may file with the District Election Commission a complaint about any error or misstatement on the list of voters. The district election commission shall investigate the complaint within 24 hours and either eliminate the error or issue a statement to the applicant stating the motives for rejecting the appeal.
2. Actions and decisions of the election commission may be in court in accordance with the procedure defined by law.
Article 43. Appeals Against Denials to Register
1. Should a federal list of candidates or Individual candidates for deputy of the State Duma be denied registration the election commission shall issue to the authorized representative of an election association or a candidate or his authorized representative a statement stating the reasons for denial. Failure to meet the requirements of this Regulation is the only acceptable reason.
2. Denial of registration to a federal list of candidates or any individual candidate for deputy of the State Duma or failure the election commission to fulfill its obligation provided for in Paragraph 1 of this Article may be appealed against in court by an election association or a candidate in accordance with the procedure defined by law.
Article 44. Contesting the Borders of Constituencies
1. Within 10 days after the publication of the general list of one-mandate constituencies formed for the purpose of elections to the State Duma, the borders of constituencies formed in accordance with this Regulation may be contested. Complaints are lodged by the corresponding representative body, the supreme official (head of administration), or a local self-government body of a territorial unit that is part of the corresponding member of the Russian Federation. Complaints shall be lodged with the Central Election Commission, which shall investigate the complaint within five days and either correspondingly change the borders of constituencies and publish the amended scheme, or issue a statement to the applicant stating the motives for rejecting the appeal.
2. Rejection of a complaint by the Central Election Commission or failure by the commission to fulfill its obligation under Paragraph 1 of this Article may be contested in court in accordance with the procedure established by law.
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