Pamfilova: there is an opportunity to spread remote electronic voting throughout Russia

The Central Election Commission (CEC) did not expand remote electronic voting (DEV) to the whole of Russia due to issues of security and voter confidence. At the same time, the CEC has the opportunity to extend the DEG to the entire country, said the chairman of the CEC Ella Pamfilova at a meeting of the commission, her words are quoted TASS.

“We do not have this administrative approach. If we now made a decision (to introduce DEG.— “b”) even at a federal campaign across the country, we could have done it, but we did not and will not do it,” said Ms. Pamfilova.

“Because for us the unconditional priority is the complete security of the system: ensuring secret voting, on the one hand, on the other hand, transparency of control, and, as a result, arising from everything, the main criterion according to which we measure our actions is level of trust,” the head of the CEC answered the question about the possibility of extending the DEG to the whole of Russia.

In the legislative elections, remote electronic voting was first held on a single voting day on September 8, 2019 and in the elections of deputies to the seventh convocation of the Moscow City Duma. The system for the experiment was developed by the Department of Information Technologies of the Moscow City Hall. To discuss the experiment, the working group on electronic voting at the Public Chamber was used as the only official platform.

In 2021, the use of electronic voting in the elections to the State Duma of the eighth convocation caused the greatest criticism, electoral researchers noted a number of violations and possible falsifications.

From September 9 to September 11, 2022, voting takes place in Russia at elections of various levels in 82 regions of the country. Direct elections of governors are held in 14 regions. Another six regions elect deputies of regional parliaments.

Read more in the publication “Kommersant” “Electronic Controversy”.

Maria Fedotova