What percentage of voters should vote. Basic Research

When are elections considered invalid? Traditionally, not much attention has been paid to this issue, while the means mass media are focusing their interest on the election race and the increasingly popular cases of fraud and irregularities during elections in recent years. Meanwhile, if the elections are declared invalid, repeat elections are held, the organization of which is again funded by taxpayers - money from the pockets of voters. In light of the creation of a new election bill in 2013, this topic has become more relevant than ever.

The need for a procedure for declaring elections invalid arose due to the likelihood of situations in which some candidates have a formal and technical advantage over others. The legislative framework of the issue has undergone repeated changes in order to objectively correspond to the changing conditions of Russian reality. The last major amendments in 2006 were the abolition of the minimum turnout threshold at polling stations (20% for regional elections, 25% - in elections to the State Duma, 50% - in presidential elections Russian Federation) and the columns “Against all” in the ballots. The latter caused a great public outcry; many citizens and politicians continue to insist on the return of this column. The abolition of the minimum threshold, on the one hand, is objectively conditioned by the voluntary participation of citizens in elections, on the other hand, it creates favorable conditions for various kinds of violations and falsifications.

Currently, the grounds for declaring elections invalid are the following:

• One list of candidates must be allowed to distribute deputy mandates. Here we're talking about about the entry barrier, which is currently 5%. The bias and inconsistency of a state legislative (representative) body formed in this way is obvious.
• Lists of candidates who in total received less than 51% of the votes of voters who visited polling stations should be allowed to distribute deputy mandates.
• During the re-vote, all candidates dropped out.
• Neither of the two candidates received a sufficient number of votes to be elected in cases where the law provides for a repeat vote.

The decision to declare an election invalid is made by the election commission.

Repeat elections are also ordered if the results of the first elections are declared invalid - these concepts are not equivalent and should not be confused with failed elections. In reality, such a situation is less likely due to the lack of strict unambiguous criteria for the invalidity of results. The law deals with violations that do not allow reliably determining the results of the will of citizens, but the exact list of violations (these include violations during the election campaign and campaigning, illegal manipulation of ballots and directly deliberate violations in the work of the election commission) and the degree of seriousness are determined in everyone specific case in fact. Election results may also be invalidated by a court decision. In this case, the concept of “failed elections” contains significantly more certainty than the definition of “invalid results”.

It's safe to say that legislative framework and criteria in evaluation this issue will change repeatedly at the moment the 2013 law fully complies with changes in Russian political reality recent years and prepares the ground for the next elections to the State Duma in 2016.

What to expect from upcoming elections? Discussion on our forum.

Measures have been developed aimed at increasing the legitimacy of elections in Russia. The corresponding bill prepared by the deputy Margarita Svergunova, submitted to the State Duma.

It is proposed to establish legislatively minimum threshold voter turnout - at least 50% of voters included in the voter lists in the elections of the President of the Russian Federation, State Duma deputies, as well as in elections to bodies state power subjects of the Russian Federation. This indicator is planned to be taken into account when the elections are declared invalid. An exception is provided for elections to local government bodies.

Let us recall that previously elections were declared invalid if less than 20% of the number of voters included in the voter lists took part in them. At the same time, the specified minimum percentage could be increased for elections to federal bodies of state power, government bodies of constituent entities of the Russian Federation and reduced for elections of deputies representative bodies municipalities. The law of a subject of the Russian Federation allowed to provide that the minimum percentage of the number of voters for recognition of elections of deputies of representative bodies municipality is not established as having taken place. Also, a minimum turnout threshold was in effect for the elections of the President of the Russian Federation, which were declared invalid if less than half of the voters included in the voter lists at the end of voting took part in them. For elections of State Duma Deputies, the voter turnout threshold was 25%. However, the corresponding norms were then excluded.

According to the author of the initiative, today the absence of a threshold for voter turnout during elections to government bodies calls into question the legitimacy of elected bodies elected in elections with the participation of less than half of the voters included in the voter lists.

Svergunova believes that the introduction of the proposed norms will make it possible to form government bodies taking into account the opinions of the majority of voters, which will give greater legitimacy to elected bodies, helping to strengthen power throughout the country as a whole. Also, the implementation of the bill will increase the responsibility of election commissions, in particular, in informing voters about elections, active suffrage, active citizenship, etc.

In less than a quarter, the country will elect the President of the Russian Federation. The next elections are due to take place on March 18, 2018. It is worth finding out the conditions of the next elections, which change almost every year.

In 2017, an amendment to the law “On Presidential Elections” was adopted. The most important change is the elimination of absentee ballots. Now you can vote at any polling station by simply submitting an application. All the major changes were thought up to increase people's turnout in the 2018 elections.

Back in 2006, the electoral legislation abolished the turnout threshold. But previously, in order for elections to be recognized as valid, at least 50% of voters had to take part in them. So in 2018, elections will be considered valid even with low voter turnout.

The turnout threshold for the 2018 Russian presidential elections has been raised

Experts believe that due to new amendments to the law “On Presidential Elections,” which abolished absentee ballots, voter turnout will increase by 5 million. The new amendments abolish absentee ballots and include citizens in voter lists based on electronic applications, and also legislate the possibility of video surveillance at polling stations and simplify the work of election observers. In the last presidential election, 1,600,046 Russians voted using absentee ballots. But one can only imagine how many people really wanted to vote, but at the time of the elections they were not at their place of registration. At the same time, they did not want to get involved with absentee ballots, because in order to receive them, it takes a lot of time and effort. So, most likely, all these simplifications with “papers” will help many people cast their votes in the next elections.

But at the same time, many believe that voter turnout will still be very low and perhaps even lower than last year. After all, many people simply refuse to vote for their own reasons.

Experts also believe that the situation can be changed by improving conditions. Namely: we need to inform all Russians as much as possible, remove all bureaucratic barriers and try by all means to increase the accessibility of polling stations.

1. Count against everyone

What happened before
Officially, the column “against all” appeared on ballot papers in
1993 elections to the State Duma
A year later, it was legalized in elections at all levels. In 1997, the State Duma approved a provision under which elections were considered invalid if the number of votes against everyone exceeded the number of votes cast for the favorite in the presidential race. In 2005, more than 14% of voters in 11 regions voted “against all” in regional elections. At the same time, regional authorities were allowed to independently choose whether to include the column on the ballot for regional and local elections.
In 2005, the head of the Central Election Commission, Alexander Veshnyakov, said that the “against all” column should be removed from the ballots. According to him, citizens used this column because they were too lazy to choose from a large list of candidates. Supporters of eliminating the form argued that it forces the authorities to spend additional money on repeat elections. In 2006, the State Duma voted to exclude the column. A Levada Center poll showed that 18% of voters considered the existence of the “against all” column justified - citizens were thus deprived of the opportunity to express their protest at the elections.

What now
In 2013, a VTsIOM poll showed that 43% of citizens supported the return of the “against all” column, including 34% of supporters of “ United Russia" In the same year, a bill on returning the uniform was introduced to the State Duma (http://www.interfax.ru/russia/352263). The initiative of the deputies was approved in 2014, the reform to return the column came into force in 2015. According to the final version, regional authorities can add a column “against all” in municipal elections. So far, only six subjects have taken advantage of this opportunity (http://cikrf.ru/news/relevant/2015/09/11/01.html): the Republics of Karelia and Sakha, Belgorod, Vologda, Kaluga and Tver regions.
//The EdRo Party (“Party of Crooks and Thieves”) understood, of course, that with such a crafty wording, the “Against All” column would not appear in the 2018 elections - after all, all power in the regions is in the hands of PZhiV. In Irkutsk, for example, the red governor Levchenko could not even “break through” the mayoral elections. As long as Putin is in power, the degradation of Russia will continue until its collapse into separate principalities.

2. Minimum turnout threshold
The minimum turnout threshold was abolished by Putin in 2006 (http://www.kprf.org/showthread.php?t=63), when people began to vote with their feet. The abolition of the threshold gave Putin, practically, a guarantee that he would remain in the kingdom for life - officials will always come to the elections and will always vote the way they should.

In 2013, a bill was prepared, according to which elections or a referendum will be recognized as valid if at least 50% of voters come to vote (http://m.ppt.ru/news/118335). The minimum turnout threshold is planned to be established for the elections of the President and deputies State Duma and for referendums. Now the Bill is in the archives // Four years have passed, and the prospects for the adoption of the bill are vague. Thanks to Putin. Let me remind voters of his “regalia”: The main corrupt official in the world in 2014,
Enemy of the Russian people, Enemy of the free press, etc., etc.
Published: 01/30/2018