MOSCOW, May 24. Russian senators at a meeting Wednesday approved a law regulating the holding of elections and referendums under martial law in the region.
Elections in martial law The law provides that when martial law is introduced, the governor of the region in martial law in this subject has the right not earlier than 130 days and not later than 90 days before the voting day to propose to the CEC of the Russian Federation to hold elections or a referendum on the territory of the corresponding subject. This decision will be made by the CEC following consultations with the RF Ministry of Defense and the RF FSB.
If, after the appointment of elections, a referendum, their preparation and holding on the territory of the subject pose a danger to citizens, the elections and the referendum are postponed by decision of the CEC, of which the commission immediately informs the President of the Russian Federation. If the circumstances that caused the postponement of the elections are eliminated, the campaign may be resumed by decision of the CEC.
Repeal of absentee ballots The law excludes provisions relating to absentee ballot voting. These changes are due to the development and demand for the «Mobile Voter» mechanism, which allows voting at polling stations at the actual location of citizens.
Prohibition of Campaigning on Blocked Websites The federal law also specifies the norms for campaigning. Thus, campaign materials should not contain calls to commit extremist actions, and should not fall under the signs of extremism.
Moreover, it is unacceptable for candidates to campaign using information resources, access to which is restricted by Roskomnadzor.
Polling stations outside the regions By decision of the election commission of the constituent entity of the Russian Federation, which organizes the preparation and conduct of elections, polling stations may be formed outside the territory of the constituent entity of the Russian Federation, where such voters have an active suffrage right.
Peculiarities of formation of said electoral precincts, formation of precinct electoral commissions in these precincts (imposition of powers of precinct electoral commissions of these precincts on precinct electoral commissions formed in other constituent entities of the Russian Federation), compilation of voter lists, compilation of protocols on voting results (formation of data on results of such voting), processing the voting results, determining the results of elections, as well as other features of the preparation and conduct of voting, including early voting, at these polling stations are established by the CEC of the Russian Federation.