Electronic Voters List as a New Element of Digitalizing Electoral Process: Legal and Organizational Basis

Abstract

The article studies the prerequisites for the implementation of electronic list of voters (ELV), legal regulation, the voting procedure considering the use of the ELV, enforcement of electoral rights during preparation and holding of elections, vote counting and further determination of elections results at a polling station. This article also deals with the first experience of the ELV use during Moscow municipal delegates elections. The introduction of the ELV made it possible to abandon the use of two different lists of voters during the same elections — the list of those who vote traditionally by visiting polling stations, and the list of those who vote remotely. The situation when there are two different lists of voters entailed significant difficulties both for electoral commissions and voters in realization of their electoral rights. With the introduction of electronic list of voters during municipal elections 2022 in Moscow, eligible registered voters did not have to submit in advance a remote voting request or to decide their method of voting (in person, remote, or electronic). Electronic list of voters excluded groundless deprivation of active electoral rights, what prior happened due to technical errors or normative casuistry. Integration of electronic list of voters eliminated any possibility of repeated voting by the same individual. The article concludes that in terms of the digitalization of the voting process the ELV becomes an effective mechanism for strengthening legal and organizational guarantees of the electoral rights of Russian citizens. This article also contains proposals for further improvements of voting procedures especially related to the ELV in terms of information and digital society development.