Home > 1.3.2.1 Ballots and election material > RUSSIAN FEDERATION - Basic Guarantees of Electoral Rights and the Right of Citizens to Participate in a Referendum
 
 
 
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Article 63
 
Article 63. Ballots
1. In order to participate in an election, a referendum, a voter, referendum participant shall be issued a ballot.
2. Ballots shall be produced on the instruction of the relevant commission and shall be documents subject to strict accountability. Numbering of ballots shall not be allowed. The quantity of produced ballots shall not exceed the number of registered voters, referendum participants by more than three percent.
3. Ballots shall be produced:
?) for elections of federal bodies of state power, bodies of state power of a subject of the Russian Federation:
with the use of special paper (paper with water marks or colored paper) or special paint;
with a micro-inscription or a protective grid printed thereon at a printing house;
b) for elections of bodies of local self-government (save elections of representative bodies of local self-government in electoral districts where the number of voters is five thousand or less):
with the use of colored paper or special paint or with a colored background applied by a print shop;
with a micro-inscription or a protective grid printed thereon at a print shop;
4. The form and the text of the ballot, the quantity of ballots, and the procedure for supervision over their production shall be approved by the relevant commissions not later than 25 days before voting day. The text shall be printed only on one side of the ballot. In the event of a repeat voting, the text of the ballot, the quantity of ballots shall be approved by the relevant commission at the time it takes the decision to hold the repeat voting.
5. For voting on candidates, surnames of registered candidates shall be arranged in the ballot in the alphabetical order, and the ballot shall contain the following information about each registered candidate:
?) surname, first name, patronymic;
b) year of birth;
c) place of residence (name of a Russian Federation subject, raion, city, other populated center);
d) main place of work or service, official position (occupation, if there is no main place of work or service);
e) if a candidate is a deputy and exercises his powers on a non-permanent basis, this fact and the name of the representative body;
f) if a candidate was nominated by a political party, electoral bloc, the words "Nominated by the political party (electoral bloc)" and the abbreviated name of the political party, electoral bloc;
g) if a candidate is a self-nominated candidate, the words "Independent candidate;"
h) information about the grounds for registration (voter signatures, electoral deposit, other grounds), while this information shall not be indicated in the case provided by Clause 16, Article 38 of this Federal Law.
If a registered candidate indicated his membership in some public association in accordance with Clause 2, Article 33 of this Federal Law, the ballot shall also indicate the abbreviated name of this public association and the status of the registered candidate in this public association.
If a registered candidate is also nominated on a list of candidates registered by the relevant election commission, this fact shall be indicated on the ballot.
6. For voting on lists of candidates, the ballot shall contain abbreviated names of electoral associations, electoral blocs arranged in an order determined as a result of lot-drawing, and also surnames, first names, patronymics of at least first three candidates from the list and/or its respective regional part, and black-and-white emblems of electoral associations, electoral blocs.
7. If a registered candidate indicated in the ballot has a conviction that has not been cancelled and annulled, the ballot shall contain information about the candidate's convictions. If a registered candidate put on the ballot has a foreign citizenship, the ballot shall indicate this fact and the name of the relevant foreign state.
8. A blank box shall be placed to the right of the data of each registered candidate indicated under Clauses 5 and 6 of this article, to the right of the name of each electoral association, electoral bloc. A line reading "Against all candidates" ("Against all lists of candidates") with a blank box to the right thereof shall be placed at the end of the list of registered candidates, names of electoral associations, electoral blocs.
9. For voting at a referendum, the ballot shall contain the text of the question submitted to the referendum and indicate the options for expression of the voter’s will with the words "Yes" or "No" over which blank boxes are placed. If more than one question is submitted to a referendum, they shall be put on different ballots. If a draft law, regulatory act of a body of local self-government is submitted to a referendum, the ballot shall either reproduce its text or unambiguously set forth the contents of this text.
10. Ballots shall be printed in the Russian language. Subject to a decision of the commission specified by law, ballots shall be printed in the Russian language and in the official language of the given republic comprised in the Russian Federation and, in the necessary cases, in the languages of the peoples of the Russian Federation in the territories where they are concentrated. If ballots for an electoral precinct are printed in two or more languages, the Russian text shall be printed on each ballot.
11. Ballots produced by a print shop shall be inspected and defective ballots rejected by the personnel of the print shop under the supervision of voting members of the commission that placed, in accordance with the law, an order for the ballots, and then the ballots shall be handed over to the members of this commission on the basis of a certificate. After the ballots packed in bundles are handed over in the quantity corresponding to the order, the personnel of the print shop shall destroy rejected and surplus ballots (if any) and shall draw up a certificate to this effect. The commission that placed the order for the ballots shall notify all members of this commission, relevant candidates, electoral associations, electoral blocs, the referendum initiative group, other referendum participant groups (their representatives) of the time when and the place where ballots are to be inspected and handed over to the appropriate commission. The print shop shall allow at least one representative from each candidate, electoral association, electoral bloc, referendum initiative group, another referendum participant group to be present when all these actions are performed, and each of these persons may put his signature on the certificates mentioned in this Clause.
12. After receiving ballots from the print shop, the commission shall deliver the ballots, of the basis of an acceptance certificate, to lower commissions that shall deliver the ballots to lower commissions down to precinct commissions, in accordance with the same procedure.
13. The chairmen of the commissions that deliver and accept the ballots shall bear responsibility for correct delivery of ballots.
14. Ballots shall be delivered to territorial (district) commissions not later than 20 days before voting day, and to precinct commissions, not later than three days before voting day.
15. The quantity of ballots to be delivered on the basis of an acceptance certificate to a precinct commission shall be determined by a decision of the higher commission. Such quantity shall not exceed by more than 0.5 percent or be less than 90 percent of the number of voters, referendum participants that have been included in the list of voters, referendum participants in the electoral precinct, referendum precinct as of the day of the ballot delivery. If the number of voters, referendum participants included in the list of voters, referendum participants is less than 200, two extra ballots shall be given to the precinct commission.
16. Signatures of two voting members of the precinct election commission certified by the commission's seal shall be put in the upper right corner on the face of all ballots received by the precinct election commission.
17. If a registered candidate, list of candidates withdraw after ballots have been produced, territorial, district, and precinct election commissions shall, on the instruction of the commission which registered this candidate, list of candidates, cross out the data of this candidate, list of candidates on ballots.
18. If in accordance with the law a decision is taken to register candidates, federal list of candidates to transfer a place on the list to the next registered candidate in replacement of a candidate who withdrew after the ballots had been produced less than seven days before voting day, the commission that registered a candidate, list of candidates shall be entitled to make a decision to put the data of the said registered candidate, list of candidates into the printed ballots by hand or through using technical equipment.
19. In exceptional cases, in electoral precincts, referendum precincts formed in remote and hard-to-reach areas, on ships at sea on voting day, at polar stations, outside the territory of the Russian Federation electoral documents, including ballots, may be produced by a precinct commission itself. A decision to produce electoral documents, indicating the required number of ballots and the deadline for their production, shall be taken by this precinct commission with the concurrence of the higher commission.
20. On voting day, after the voting time ends, commissions shall count and cancel unused ballots. In precinct commissions, this procedure is carried out in accordance with Clause 3, Article 68 of this Federal Law. In other commissions, statements of ballot cancellation specifying the number of cancelled ballots shall be drawn up. Persons indicated in Clause 3, Article 30 of this Federal Law may be present when ballots are being cancelled. Cancelled ballots shall be handed over for safekeeping with the other documentation of the commission to the secretary of the commission.