Members of precinct electoral commissions will conduct door-to-door visits to voters to inform them about the elections

The Central Election Commission (CEC) on Wednesday adopted a resolution on the Mobile PEC pilot project, which will conduct door-to-door visits to voters to inform them about the elections. Members of election commissions will tell citizens about the time and place of voting, its available forms, registered parties and candidates. During the discussion, some members of the CEC expressed their fears that due to the too thin line between informing and campaigning, the project could turn into a tool for ensuring a high turnout and supporting the “right” candidates. But their colleagues assured them that all members of the electoral commission knew about the inadmissibility of campaigning, and the electoral system was so transparent that such a bias would not go unnoticed.

78 regions will take part in the Mobile PEC project this year. According to the CEC, more than 55,000 people from more than 10,000 precinct electoral commissions (PECs) will become “bypassers”, and 100% of PECs will be involved in Karachay-Cherkessia, Crimea, Voronezh and Samara regions and Chukotka. “When our colleagues asked us if we had the right to do this, I reminded everyone of the Soviet practice of going door-to-door,” said Elmira Khaymurzina, a member of the Central Electoral Commission, when presenting the project. .

Ms. Khaimurzina said that all project participants were trained, and special emphasis was placed on effective communication and stress resistance. A special mobile application will help build a conversation with voters without “lyrical digressions,” the CEC member emphasized. According to her, the door-to-door tour “will increase the interest of voters in the elections and in participating in the life of their country.”

The bypass of citizens will take place in two waves: from August 7 to 20 and from August 25 to September 6, but some regions may shift these dates – for example, in the Samara and Yaroslavl regions, the project started on August 1.

Elena Novik, the head of the Yaroslavl Regional Electoral Committee, who joined the meeting via video link, said that on the first day members of the PEC visited 20,000 apartments and, in general, citizens accept them without negativity, showing interest in the electoral processes: “Voters, it turns out, are very interested in knowing who they are choose.” In addition, according to the results of the first day, it turned out that in rural areas and in the private sector, people more often agree to a conversation and invite them to come into the house, while voters in apartment buildings are more reserved. “We also noticed that in the first half of the day the voter is more open for conversation than in the evening,” said Ms. Novik. The linemen, according to her, although tired, were still “satisfied enough, even somewhere a little cheerful.”

Despite these positive reviews, a discussion arose among the members of the CEC. So, Nikolai Levichev recalled that in the USSR, democracy, elections and voting “were of the so-called plebiscite character”: there were no alternative candidates and citizens could only answer “yes” or “no”. In this regard, he expressed concern that information could develop into agitation.

Also, the CEC member is afraid that unscrupulous “dashing people” can use the topic of door-to-door visits and, under the guise of members of the PEC, “waving a badge”, gain access to apartments.

Boris Ebzeev supported his colleague, saying that the line between informing and agitation is “very thin” and, given the party membership of PEC members, it would be not only easy, but also desirable to cross it. Therefore, the CEC member proposed to think about the development of appropriate guarantees. He also noted that the door-to-door tour of the 2017 presidential elections in Uzbekistan, which was mentioned by Nikolai Levichev, had not only the stated goal of creating a more accurate voter register: “Such experience was used to ensure 100 percent turnout and close to 100 percent support for the desired candidate . I would really not want it to develop into such a practice in our country.”

Elmira Khaymurzina in response emphasized that during methodological sessions in the regions, members of the commissions are regularly reminded of the ban on campaigning: “And they understand this very well. There is a very important controlling factor: this is the maximum, utterly already, it seems to me, transparent and open electoral system of the Russian Federation.” According to her, voters have already begun to write letters to the CEC with feedback on the door-to-door tour, although the project has not yet been fully launched. And if information suddenly turns into campaigning, then this will certainly become known from social networks, which will be closely monitored by the CEC, Ms. Khaimurzina added.

The deputy chairman of the CEC, Nikolai Bulaev, in turn, said that on the eve of the meeting he also read one letter from a “not without interest person from Rybinsk”, who is worried about possible problems and excesses in the implementation of the project. “On the whole, a benevolent letter on how this project can be implemented so that it is accepted by people,” Mr. Bulaev explained.

He agreed that PEC members have some temptations, but pointed out that “testing the project is important because the main campaign of the country is ahead”: “Mobile PEC” will be used in the 2024 presidential elections, so the CEC needs to understand where it is better not to use it .

The financial side of the implementation of the new project, including issues of additional payment for the work of PEC members, was not discussed at the CEC meeting. Although, for example, the electoral committee of the Voronezh region, where 100% of the PECs participate in the experiment, decided the day before to increase by 84 million rubles. the gubernatorial election budget is just for targeted informing voters. According to the publication Notebook Voronezh, members of the PEC will be paid 100 rubles for visiting one household. The head of the regional election commission, Ilya Ivanov, explained to Kommersant that it is planned to carry out personal targeted informing of voters about elections and forms of expression of will, including remote electronic voting. Question “Kommersant” about payment of 100 rubles. for every informed household he left unanswered.

Elena Rozhkova; Sergei Tolmachev, Voronezh