Home > 2 Organising the elections > RUSSIAN FEDERATION - Federal Law on Basic Guarantees of Electoral Rights and the Right of Citizens of the Russian Federation to Participate in a Referendum
 
 
 
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Article 19
 

1. Electoral precincts, referendum precincts shall be formed to conduct voting and count votes.


2. Electoral precincts, referendum precincts shall be formed by the head of a local administration of a municipality, district, city district, intra-city territory of a federal-significance city, in cases envisaged in the law of the subject of the Russian Federation- a federal-significance city, by the head of the territorial office of executive power of the federal-significance city, and during elections to a body of local self-government of an urban settlement (except for a city district) or a rural settlement (hereinafter the urban settlement, except for the city district, or a rural settlement shall be referred to as settlements), by the head of local administration of the settlement, or by the persons indicated in Sections 3 and 6 of this article, by the relevant commissions in accordance with the procedure provided for in Section 5 of this article, on the basis of the data on the number of voters, referendum participants registered on the territory of the electoral precinct, referendum precinct in accordance with Section 10, Article 16 of this Federal Law, with not more than 3 thousand voters, referendum participants per precinct. Electoral precincts, referendum precincts shall be formed not later than 45 days prior to voting day.


(in the version of Federal Law of July 21, 2005, # 93-FZ).


3. For citizens of the Russian Federation staying outside the territory of the Russian Federation, electoral precincts, referendum precincts shall be formed by the heads of diplomatic or consular missions of the Russian Federation on the territory of the country where they stay. The provisions regarding the number of voters, referendum participants set forth in Section 2 of this article shall not apply if electoral precincts, referendum precincts are formed outside the territory of the Russian Federation.


4. The boundaries of electoral precincts shall not cross the boundaries of electoral districts. The procedures for assigning electoral precincts formed outside the territory of the Russian Federation to electoral districts formed for elections of federal bodies of state power shall be set by a federal law.


5. In places where voters, referendum participants temporarily stay (hospitals, sanatoriums, holiday hotels, in railway stations, airports, detention centers for suspected or accused persons, and other places of temporary stay of voters), in remote areas and hard-to-reach areas, on ships at sea on voting day and at polar stations, electoral precincts, referendum precincts may be formed within the periods indicated in Section 2 of this article, and in exceptional cases and upon approval by the higher commission, not later than 3 days before voting day. Such electoral precincts shall be included in electoral districts/ referendum districts where the electoral precincts are located or where the ships are registered. At elections of bodies of state power of a subject of the Russian Federation, to bodies of local self-government, at a referendum of a subject of the Russian Federation, a local referendum, the law of the subject of the Russian Federation may prescribe a different procedure for assignment of such precincts to electoral districts, referendum districts. In hard-to-reach or remote areas, electoral precincts, referendum precincts may be established by a higher commission with the concurrence of the captain of the ship or the ship owner, the head of the polar station, heads of organizations located in hard-to-reach or remote areas.


(in the version of Federal Laws of July 21, 2005, # 93-FZ, of October 4, 2010, # 263-FZ).


6. Servicemen shall vote in regular electoral precincts, referendum precincts. In military units, electoral precincts, referendum precincts may be formed by commanders of such military units in the cases, in the procedure and at the time established by law.


7. Lists of electoral precincts, referendum precincts indicating their boundaries and numbers, location of precinct commissions and voting premises shall be published by the head of a local administration of a municipality, city district, intra-city territory of a federal-significance city, and in cases envisaged in law of the subject of the Russian Federation – federal-significance city, by the head of the territorial office of executive power of a federal-significance city, and in case of holding of elections to a body of local self-government of the settlement, by the head of local administration of the settlement, not later than 40 days before voting day. The procedure for providing the said information to voters, referendum participants in the circumstances described in Sections 3 and 5 of this article shall be established by law.


(in the version of Federal Law of July 21, 2005, # 93-FZ).