Home > 1.3.2.2.4 Combating electoral fraud > RUSSIAN FEDERATION - Federal Law on Elections of Deputies to the State Duma of the Federal Assembly of the Russian Federation
 
 
 
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Article 80
 

1. An absentee vote certificate is a document of strict accountability. Absentee vote certificates shall be produced in compliance with Appendix 2 to the Federal Law "On Basic Guarantees". The text of absentee vote certificate, the number of absentee vote certificates, the form of the register of issued absentee vote certificates shall be approved no later than 60 days before the voting day by the Central Election Commission, which shall also determine the measures of protection against forgery of absentee vote certificates during their production.


2. To protect against forgery of absentee vote certificates during their production, paper with water marks shall be used, and (or) paper with typographically inscribed micro script and (or) a protective mesh and (or) other special security features.


3. Procurement of absentee vote certificates shall be carried out in accordance with Part 4 of Article 70 of the present Federal Law by the Central Election Commission on the basis of its decision.


4. Handover of absentee vote certificates by a higher election commission to lower election commissions shall be carried out on the basis of a decision by the higher election commission on the distribution of absentee vote certificates between the lower election commissions. Responsibility for the handover and security of absentee ballots shall be borne by chairmen of election commissions which hand over, receive and store absentee vote certificates.


5. A voter, who will not be able to arrive on the voting day to the polling station of the precinct where he is included on the voter list, shall be entitled to receive in the respective territorial election commission (45 - 11 days before the voting day) or in the precinct election commission (10 days or less before the voting day) an absentee vote certificate and to vote in the electoral district in which this voter has an active right of suffrage in accordance with Parts 1 and 2 of Article 4 of the present Federal Law, at the polling station where he will be on the voting day. In case of early voting in accordance with Parts 1 and 2 of Article 82 of the present Federal Law the voter who will not be able to come on the voting day (early voting days) to the polling station of the precinct where he is included on the voter list, shall be entitled to receive an absentee vote certificate from 45 to 21 days before the voting day in the respective territorial election commission and from 20 days or less before the voting day - in the precinct election commission.


6. An absentee vote certificate shall be issued by the relevant election commission on the basis of a voter’s written application indicating the reasons for which he needs an absentee vote certificate. Absentee vote certificates shall be issued personally to the voter or his representative on the basis of a notarized power of attorney. The power of attorney may also be certified by the administration of an in-patient medical institution (if the voter is undergoing treatment in this institution), administration of the institution where suspects or accused individuals are kept in custody (if the voter is detained in such institution as a suspect or accused).


7. The chair, deputy chair, secretary or another voting member of the election commission, who issues an absentee vote certificate, shall write in the surname, first name and patronymic of the voter, the series and number of his passport or the document replacing the passport, the number of the precinct where the voter is included in the voter list, the address of the precinct election commission, the name of the municipality and the subject of the Russian Federation, the number and (or) the name of the single-mandate electoral district, in the territory of which the precinct is formed, the name of the election commission issuing the absentee vote certificate, and indicate his position in the election commission, surname and initials, date of issue of the absentee vote certificate, shall sign and place the seal of the relevant election commission.


8. Territorial election commission shall issue a voter or his representative an absentee vote certificate on the basis of information on voters provided to the territorial election commission in accordance with Part 8 of Article 16 of the present Federal Law. The territorial election commission shall maintain a register of issued absentee vote certificates, which shall contain the surname, first name and patronymic, date of birth (18 years of age - also the day and month of birth), voter’s address. Chair, deputy chair, secretary or another voting member of the territorial election commission, who issued the absentee vote certificate to the voter shall indicate the number of the issued absentee vote certificate in the appropriate columns of the register of issued absentee vote certificates, and sign.


9. The territorial election commission 10 days prior to the voting day, and during early voting in accordance with Parts 1 and 2 of Article 82 of the present Federal Law - 21 days prior to the voting day, shall send to the precinct election commissions together with the first copy of the voter list certified extract from the register of issued absentee vote certificates, which shall contain information on the voters registered on the territory of the relevant precincts who received absentee vote certificates. On the basis of the relevant extract from the register of issued absentee vote certificates, a member of the precinct election commission shall make a note in the appropriate column of the voter list: "Received absentee vote certificate No in the territorial election commission" with the number of the issued absentee vote certificate, and sign. Decision of the Central Election Commission of the Russian Federation may provide that these marks shall be entered in the voter list in the territorial election commission, including with the use of GAS Vybory, before the voter list is handed over to the precinct election commission. In such case, an extract from the register of issued absentee vote certificates shall not be made and sent to the precinct election commissions.


10. When an absentee vote certificate is issued to the voter in the precinct election commission, chair, deputy chair, secretary or another member of the precinct election commission with decisive voting rights, who issued the absentee vote certificate shall make a note in the appropriate column of the voter list: "Received an absentee vote certificate No" with the number of the issued absentee vote certificate, and sign.


11. Upon receipt of an absentee vote certificate the voter shall indicate the series and number of his passport or the document replacing the passport in the appropriate column of the register of issued absentee vote certificates (in the territorial election commission) or the voter list (in the precinct election commission), and sign. When the absentee vote certificate is received on the basis of a power of attorney, the voter’s representative in the appropriate columns of the register of issued absentee vote certificates or voter list shall indicate the series and number of the voter’s passport or document replacing the passport, and specify the representative’s surname, first name and patronymic, series and number of passport or the document replacing the passport, and sign. If the power of attorney is valid only to receive an absentee vote certificate, it shall be taken from the voter’s representative and attached respectively to the register of issued absentee vote certificates or to the voter list. Otherwise, a copy of the power of attorney submitted by the voter's representative shall be attached the specified register or voter list.


12. The voter who received an absentee vote certificate (including through his representative on the basis of a power of attorney), shall be excluded from the voter list of the relevant precinct for this election to the State Duma, and shall not be included in the number of voters included in the voter list during the drawing up of the protocols on voting results by the precinct election commission.


13. Re-issuance of an absentee vote certificate shall not be permitted. In case of loss of an absentee vote certificate a duplicate cannot be issued.


14. Upon presentation of an absentee vote certificate on the voting day, a voter shall be additionally included in the voter list at the polling station where he will be on the voting day. Precinct election commissions in the corresponding column of the voter list shall make a note: "Voted with absentee vote certificate No", indicating the number of the absentee vote certificate presented by the voter. After that, an absentee vote certificate shall be taken away from the voter. Absentee vote certificates, on the basis of which voters are included in the voter list, shall be stored together with this voter list.


15. In case of loss of a blank absentee vote certificate an election commission which established the fact of such loss shall immediately draw up an act and adopt a decision, stating the number of the lost absentee vote certificate, the fact of loss, and the reason for the loss. This decision on the same day shall be communicated directly by the higher election commission and the Central Election Commission. On the basis of this decision, the Central Election Commission shall recognize the corresponding absentee vote certificate invalid, and promptly inform all lower election commissions to that effect. Absentee vote certificates may also be recognized as invalid by the Central Election Commission of the Russian Federation in other cases, if voting with such absentee vote certificates would result in a violation of citizens' electoral rights. Invalid absentee vote certificate shall not constitute a basis for the inclusion of the voter in the voter list. Upon presentation by a voter, such absentee vote certificate shall be seized.


16. On the voting day before the voting time unused absentee vote certificates shall be cancelled. Information about the cancellation of unused absentee vote certificates, indicating their number and numbers, shall be entered by the relevant election commission into an act drawn up according to the form approved by the Central Election Commission.


17. Handover of absentee vote certificates to election commissions and accounting of the absentee vote certificates, including with the use of GAS Vybory, shall be carried out in the manner approved by the Central Election Commission in accordance with paragraph 16 of Article 62 of the Federal Law "On Basic Guarantees”.