Procedure for Organizing Voting at Voters’ Place of Stay

1. Each precinct election commissions shall ensure that voters who are included in the voter list of the regular or special precinct and are incapable of moving independently because of health reasons (due to disability, temporary health disorder, age) are able to vote at the place of their stay.

2. On the last day before the day of voting, each precinct election commission shall create, at its meeting, an excerpt from the voter list, in a form established by the Central Election Commission, for the purpose of organizing voting by those who are incapable of moving independently, at the place of their stay.

As soon as this excerpt has been created, it shall be immediately posted on the premises of the precinct election commission for public review.

3. The following voters may be included in the excerpt from the voter list:

1) without a decision of the commission, a voter specially marked in the voter list as permanently incapable of moving independently, unless such voter notifies the precinct election commission, in writing or in person, by 12:00 noon on the last Saturday prior to the day of voting of his or her wish to vote in the premises for voting;

2) upon a decision of the commission, a voter being temporarily incapable of moving independently, which decision must be based on his or her application and certificate of his or her health issued by a medical institution.

4. When entering a voter in the excerpt from the voter list for voting at places of voters’ stay, the secretary of the precinct election commission shall make an entry “votes at place of residence” in the column “Voter’s signature” of the voter list of the election precinct.

5. A voter being temporarily incapable of moving independently shall file, by mail or through a third person, a handwritten application in his or her own handwriting requesting that he or she be provided with an opportunity to vote at the place of his or her stay, with indication of the voter’s place of stay. Such application shall be submitted, along with a certificate of the voter’s health issued by a medical institution, to the precinct election commission no later than 20:00 of the last Friday prior to the day of voting.

6. It shall be the responsibility of a voter to file the application provided for by Part five of this Article to ensure compliance with the requirements relating to the voting procedure stipulated by this Code.

7. At special election precincts established in health care establishments, voting at the place of voters’ stay shall be conducted on the basis of a voter’s application, in his or her own handwriting, with a request to be provided with the opportunity to vote at his or her place of stay, in view of his or her need to be confined to bed.

8. An application by a voter to vote at the place of his or her stay shall be registered by the precinct election commission in a separate register, indicating the day and time of the receipt of the application, and also the last name, first name, patronymic name, and address of the voter’s place of residence (place of stay).

9. Voting at voters’ place of stay shall be organized by no less than three members of the precinct election commission appointed by a decision of the election commission specified in Part two of Article 172 of this Code. Such election commission members shall be representatives of different political parties.

10. Voting at voters’ place of stay shall be organized in such a way that the precinct election commission members involved in organizing such voting will be able to return to the premises for voting no later than one hour prior to the end of voting.

11. The head of a precinct election commission shall announce the departure of the precinct election commission members who are conducting voting at voters’ place of stay in the precinct. The head of the precinct election commission shall provide the appointed election commission members with the excerpt from the voter list created in compliance with Part two of this Article. Simultaneously, the election commission members shall be provided with one copy of each party’s information brochures and information posters for the respective electoral region, and with a sealed mobile ballot box into which the head of the commission shall drop a control sheet. The control sheet shall contain the following information: the ballot box number; the time at which the appointed election commission members departed (in hours and minutes); the numbers of ballot papers received by them; and the last names of the appointed election commission members which received the ballot papers. The control sheet shall be signed by all the election commission members present, whose signatures shall be certified by the seal of the commission and, upon request, by MP candidates, their authorized persons, the party’s authorized persons, or official observers.

12. MP candidates, party’s authorized persons, and official observers have the right to be present during the conduct of voting at voters’ place of stay.

13. A voter or his or her family members may not refuse entry to any of the commission members appointed to conduct voting at voters’ place of stay, or to any official observers, MP candidates, party’s authorized persons, that have the right to be present during the voting. In the event the aforementioned persons are denied entry into the voter’s place of stay, the voter in question shall not be provided with the opportunity to vote at his or her place of stay.

14. In the event of organizing voting at a voter’s place of stay, a member of the precinct election commission shall, based on the excerpt from the voter list, issue to the voter, provided that the latter presents one of the documents specified in Parts two and three of Article 8 of this Code, a ballot paper for voting. When issuing the ballot paper, the precinct election commission member shall enter his or her last name and initials and put his or her signature in the designated place on the counterfoil of the ballot paper, as well as indicating the number of the voter in the voter list.

The voter shall put his or her signature on the counterfoils of the ballot papers and in the excerpt from the voter list.

The member of the election commission shall detach the counterfoil from the ballot paper that shall be handed over to a voter, and hand one ballot paper over to the voter. The counterfoil of the ballot paper shall be stored by the member of the commission who handed over the ballot paper.

Another member of the election commission shall present to a voter copies of each party’s information brochures and information posters for the respective electoral region.

The voter shall fill out the ballot paper in accordance with the procedure specified by Parts seven and eight of Article 173 of this Code, using, if necessary, information brochures and information posters of the parties that are electoral subjects, and shall drop the ballot paper into the mobile ballot box. A voter’s family member or a person caring for him or her shall be entitled to be present during the voter’s voting, as well as to help him or her fill out the ballot paper and to drop it into the ballot box if the voter is unable to perform such actions due to health reasons (due to disability, temporary health disorder, age). After the voting, the voter shall return to the election commission members the copies of the information brochures and information posters of the parties received by him or her.

15. Members of the precinct election commission shall be entitled to verify the fact of a voter’s temporary inability to move independently in accordance with the procedure specified by the Central Election Commission.

16. If a voter included in the excerpt from the voter list for voting at voters’ place of stay arrives at the premises for voting after the precinct election commission members have departed to conduct voting at voters’ place of stay, that voter may not be issued ballot papers for voting until the return of the commission members in charge of organizing voting at voters’ place of stay and until it has been determined that the voter has not already voted at the place of his or her residence.

17. After a voter has voted at his or her place of stay, the precinct election commission member who issued the ballot paper to the voter shall put the mark “voted at place of residence” next to the voter’s name, enter his or her own last name, and put his or her signature.

18. The excerpt from the voter list used for voting at voters’ place of stay shall be appended to the voter list and be deemed to be an integral part thereof. The voter list shall be appended with voters’ written applications, certificates from medical institutions, and copies of the relevant decisions by the precinct election commission.

19. The provisions of this Article shall not apply to out-of-country election precincts.

20. In case the Central Election Commission decides to conduct an experiment or a pilot project using innovative technologies in accordance with Part one of Article 18 of this Code, the respective election commissions shall organize the voting procedure within the framework of such an experiment or pilot project simultaneously with the actions provided for in this Article, in compliance with the requirements of this Code.

Voters may participate in an experiment or pilot project using innovative technologies, only if they simultaneously vote in the manner prescribed by this Article.

Voters cannot be forced to participate in an experiment or pilot project using innovative technologies.