Chapter 10. VOTING

Article 72. Polling Station

1. The polling station shall be placed at the disposal of the precinct election commission at no charge by the head of the local administration of the municipality and, in cases provided by this Federal Law, by the commander of a military unit, ship captain, head of a polar station, head of a diplomatic or consular mission of the Russian Federation.

2. The polling station shall have a hall with booths or other places specially fitted out for secret voting, provided with a lighting system and writing utensils (other than pencils).

3. Inside or directly in front of the polling station the precinct election commission shall set up a bulletin board (bulletin boards) for displaying the following information about all federal lists of candidates and the political parties which nominated them:

(1) the name of the political party;

(2) information about the grounds for the registration of a federal list of candidates (on the basis of voter signatures, electoral deposit). This information need not be indicated in cases provided by Part 2, Article 39 of this Federal Law;

(3) information from the financial reports of political parties and about audits of these reports, within the scope established by the Central Election Commission of the Russian Federation;

(Paragraph 3 as amended by Federal Law No. 64-FZ of April 26, 2007)

(4) biographical data of registered candidates included in the all-federal parts of federal lists of candidates and in the regional groups of candidates, in the scope established by the Central Election Commission of the Russian Federation but not less detailed than the data established for the publication of registered federal lists of candidates;

(as amended by Federal Law No. 64-FZ of April 26, 2007)

(5) information about the income and property of registered candidates included in the all-federal parts of federal lists of candidates and in the regional groups of candidates, in the scope established by the Central Election Commission of the Russian Federation;

(6) information, if any, about the inaccuracy of the data presented by candidates in accordance with Part 4, Article 38 of this Federal Law.

4. If a registered candidate has a record of conviction that has not been expunged or has not expired, this fact shall be indicated in the information materials posted on the bulletin board;

5. Repealed by Federal Law No. 128-FZ of July 25, 2006

6. The bulletin board shall display samples of marked ballots which must not contain names of registered candidates put on the ballot, names of political parties which nominated federal lists of candidates.

7. In the information materials the information about the political parties and registered candidates put on the ballot shall be arranged in the same order as was determined when the form and the text of the ballot were approved.

8. The bulletin board shall display excerpts from the criminal legislation of the Russian Federation and Russian Federation laws on administrative offences establishing responsibility for the violation of electoral legislation of Russian Federation.

9. The materials posted on the bulletin board shall be free from any election propaganda. These materials shall be posted so that voters could easily read them.

10. At the polling station there shall be federal lists of candidates registered by the Central Election Commission of the Russian Federation.

11. An enlarged form of the protocol of vote returns of the precinct election commission shall be provided at the polling station to record vote returns as they are determined. The enlarged form of the protocol shall be posted before the commencement of voting so that it is within the field of vision of members of the precinct election commission, observers, at a distance at which they can read the information contained therein. The enlarged form of the protocol shall not substitute for the protocol of vote returns of the precinct election commission and the data entered therein shall have no legal significance.

12. Inside the polling station there shall be stationary ballot boxes. The functions of stationary ballot boxes may be performed by vote-counting machines, including software-hardware complexes for the processing of ballots. Voting may also be conducted by the use of e-voting systems. Vote-counting machines, e-voting systems shall be used in accordance with the procedure established by the Federal Law "On Basic Guarantees of Electoral Rights and the Right of Citizens of the Russian Federation to Participate in a Referendum," as prescribed by the instructions approved by the Central Election Commission of the Russian Federation.

13. The polling station shall be fitted out so that the places where ballots are handed out, the voting booths, other places specially fitted out for secret voting and stationary ballot boxes are all located within the field of vision of members of the precinct election commission and observers.

Article 73. Ballot

1. The rules for the production and delivery of ballots and the rules for controlling their production and delivery shall be approved by the Central Election Commission of the Russian Federation not later than 45 days before voting day. The quantity of ballots shall not exceed the number of registered voters by more than 1.5 percent

2. To prevent forgery of ballots they shall be printed on paper with water marks or paper with printed micro-inscriptions and protective grid, or a special sign (mark) shall be used for this purpose. The rules for the production and use of special signs (marks), their quantity and the requirements to the delivery of the special signs (marks) from the higher-level to the lower-level election commissions shall be approved by the Central Election Commission of the Russian Federation not later than 60 days before voting day.

3. The form of the ballot and its text in the Russian language shall be approved by the Central Election Commission of the Russian Federation not later than 24 days before voting day. The text of the ballot shall be printed on only one side thereof.

4. The ballot shall contain the names of the political parties, which registered federal lists of candidates, arranged in the order determined by lot, and their emblems (if the emblems were submitted to the Central Election Commission of the Russian Federation in accordance with Part 3, Article 34 of this Federal Law) printed in black and white. Lot-drawing shall be organized by the Central Election Commission of the Russian Federation with participation of authorized representatives of political parties not later than 30 days before voting day. The number drawn by the political party shall be retained by it until the end of the election campaign. Placed under the name of the political party shall be the surname, first name and patronymic of candidates included in the all-federal part of a federal list of candidates nominated by this political party. If a regional group of candidates corresponds to one subject of the Russian Federation, including a subject comprised in a group of subjects of the Russian Federation, or to a part of its territory, a ballot for this subject of the Russian Federation, this part of its territory shall, after the aforementioned information, indicate the number of the regional group of candidates and the information as to what subject of the Russian Federation, what group of the subjects of the Russian Federation (with the indication of the list of the subjects of the Russian Federation), what part of the territory of the subject of the Russian Federation or what group of parts of the territory of the subject of the Russian Federation (with the indication of the list of the parts of the territory of the subject of the Russian Federation) the given regional group of candidates corresponds to as well as the surname, first name and patronymic of the top three candidates included in this regional group of candidates. If a federal list of candidates has no all-federal part, under the name of the political party the ballot shall indicate the number of the regional group of candidates and the information as to what subject of the Russian Federation, what group of the subjects of the Russian Federation (with the indication of the list of the subjects of the Russian Federation), what part of the territory of the subject of the Russian Federation or what group of parts of the territory of the subject of the Russian Federation (with the indication of the list of the parts of the territory of the subject of the Russian Federation) the given regional group of candidates corresponds to as well as the surname, first name and patronymic of the top three candidates included in this regional group of candidates. If the political party adopts a decision mentioned in Part 9.1, Article 36 of this Federal Law, under the name of the political party the ballot for voting outside the territory of the Russian Federation shall indicate the surname, first name and patronymic of the candidates included in the all-federal part of a federal list of candidates nominated by the given political party (if such part is present), the number of the regional group of candidates and the information as to what subject of the Russian Federation, what group of subjects of the Russian Federation (with the indication of the list of the subjects of the Russian Federation), what part of the territory of the subject of the Russian Federation or what group of parts of the territory of the subject of the Russian Federation (with the indication of the list of the parts of the territory of the subject of the Russian Federation) the given regional group of candidates corresponds to as well as the surname, first name and patronymic of the top three candidates included in this regional group of candidates.

(as amended by Federal Laws No. 64-FZ of April 26, 2007, No. 188-FZ of July 21, 2007)

5. A blank box shall be placed to the right of the name of each political party.

(as amended by Federal Law No. 107-FZ of July 12, 2006)

6. If a registered candidate whose surname, first name and patronymic is indicated in the ballot has a record of conviction that has not been expunged or has not expired, the ballot shall indicate the information about the candidate's record of conviction. This information shall be indicated on the basis of the appropriate documents submitted to the Central Election Commission of the Russian Federation before approval of the text of the ballot.

(Part 6 as amended by Federal Law No. 128-FZ of July 25, 2006)

7. The ballot shall contain marking instructions.

8. Ballots shall be printed in the Russian language. By a decision of the election commission of the subject of the Russian Federation ballots shall be also printed in the official language of the given republic comprised in the Russian Federation and, in the necessary cases, in the languages of the peoples of the Russian Federation on the territories on their compact settlement. If ballots for the electoral precinct are printed in two or more languages, the text in all these languages shall be printed on each ballot. In this case the text of the ballot shall be approved by the election commission of the subject of the Russian Federation not later than 22 days before voting day.

9. The quantity of ballots shall be determined by a decision of the Central Election Commission of the Russian Federation not later than 24 days before voting day. Ballots shall be produced in two stages:

(1) to provide for early voting, voting in electoral precincts formed in hard-to-reach and remote areas and voting in electoral precincts formed outside the territory of the Russian Federation - not later than 20 days before voting day. To provide for early voting and voting in electoral precincts formed in hard-to-reach and remote areas ballots shall be produced by a decision of the election commissions of the relevant subjects of the Russian Federation in a quantity to be determined by them within the quantity of ballots determined for the given subjects of the Russian Federation by a decision of the Central Election Commission of the Russian Federation; ballots for voting in electoral precincts formed outside the territory of the Russian Federation shall be produced by a decision of the Central Election Commission of the Russian Federation in the quantity determined by it

(2) to provide for voting on voting day - not later than 10 days before voting day by a decision of the election commissions of the subjects of the Russian Federation, in a quantity determined by a decision of the Central Election Commission of the Russian Federation for the subjects of the Russian Federation minus the quantity of ballots produced earlier for early voting, voting in electoral precincts formed in hard-to-reach and remote areas.

10. The ballots produced by a printing organization shall be handed over, on the basis of a certificate, to the members of an election commission which placed an order for their production. The certificate shall indicate the date and time when it was executed and the quantity of the ballots being transferred. After the ballots packed in bundles are handed over in the quantity corresponding to the order, the personnel of the printing organization shall destroy surplus ballots (if any) and shall execute a certificate to this effect. At least two days before the receipt of the ballots from the printing organization the election commission which placed the order for their production shall decide when and where ballots are to be handed over to the members of this election commission and surplus ballots are to be destroyed. Any member of this election commission, any representative of the political party may put their signatures on the certificates mentioned in this part.

11. The delivery of ballots to the territorial election commission shall be carried out within the time determined by the Central Election Commission of the Russian Federation. In accordance with their decision on the distribution of ballots among territorial election commissions the higher-level election commissions shall deliver to territorial election commissions the entire printing of ballots which they receive from the printing organization.

12. On the basis of the decision of the territorial election commission on the distribution of ballots precinct election commission shall receive ballots from the territorial election commission not later than one day before voting day (day of early voting). For each electoral precinct the quantity of ballots shall not exceed by more than 0.5 percent (but by not less than two ballots) the number of voters registered in the given electoral precinct and shall not be less than 70 percent of the number of voters included in the voter list for the given electoral precinct as of the day of the delivery of ballots. For an electoral precinct where a large number of voters are expected to vote on the basis of absentee certificates the quantity of ballots may be increased by the decision of the election commission of the subject of the Russian Federation. When being delivered to precinct election commissions ballots shall be counted and defective ballots shall be rejected. Rejected ballots (if any) shall be destroyed by the members of the territorial election commission and a certificate shall be executed to this effect.

13. A certificate shall be executed in duplicate to confirm the delivery of ballots from the higher-level to the lower-level election commission. This certificate shall indicate the date and time of its execution, the quantity of the delivered ballots. The delivery of ballots from the higher-level to the lower-level election commission may be witnessed by members of these election commissions, representatives of political parties whose names are put on the ballot. The relevant election commission shall notify all members of this election commission and representatives of these political parties about the time and place when and where the ballots are to be delivered and shall allow not less than one representative of each political party to witness such delivery. Each of the aforementioned persons may put his signature on the certificate to be executed to confirm the delivery

14. The responsibility for the delivery and safekeeping of ballots shall be borne by the chairmen of election commissions which deliver, accept and keep the ballots.

15. Precinct election commissions formed outside the territory of the Russian Federation or territorial election commissions formed in accordance with Part 3, Article 20 of this Federal Law may be supplied with ballots directly by an election commission which placed an order for ballots, in accordance with a procedure established by the Central Election Commission of the Russian Federation, in a quantity determined on the basis of the registration data of voters, referendum participants.

16. In exceptional cases, in electoral precincts formed in remote and hard-to-reach areas, on ships at sea on voting day, at polar stations, in electoral precincts formed outside the territory of the Russian Federation the documents used in the preparation and conduct of the election of deputies of the State Duma, including ballots, may be produced by the precinct election commission itself if appropriate technical facilities are available. A decision to produce such documents, indicating the required quantity of ballots and the deadline for their production, shall be taken by this precinct election commission with the concurrence of the relevant territorial election commission or the Central Election Commission of the Russian Federation.

17. Signatures of two voting members of the precinct election commission certified by the commission's seal shall be put at the upper right on the face of all ballots received by the precinct election commission. The ballots which are not certified in this manner shall be treated as ballots of improper form and shall not be reckoned in when votes are counted.

18. In the event that any registered candidates, whose surname, first name and patronymic are indicated in the ballot, withdraw from the election or if the registration of any federal list of candidates is cancelled or annulled after ballots have been produced, territorial and precinct election commissions shall, on the instruction of the Central Election Commission of the Russian Federation, cross out in the ballots the data of these candidates, political parties which nominated these federal lists of candidates. If changes are to be made in the data of the political party in printed ballots, then, subject to a decision of the Central Election Commission of the Russian Federation, such changes may be made by members of the territorial or precinct election commission by hand or with the use of technical facilities.

19. Should a federal list of candidates be registered less than 10 days before voting day, the Central Election Commission of the Russian Federation may resolve that the data of the political party which registered this federal list of candidates, the data of regional groups of candidates, registered candidates, which is required under this article, be entered in printed ballots by hand or with the use of technical facilities.

20. On voting day, after the voting time ends, the territorial election commission shall count and cancel unused ballots and shall execute a certificate to this effect. The persons indicated in Part 5, Article 29 of this Federal Law may be present when ballots are being cancelled. Cancelled ballots shall be sealed and kept together with the other documents of this election commission by the secretary of the election commission.

Article 74. Absentee Certificate

1. An absentee certificate shall be a document subject to strict accountability. The form of an absentee certificate and the procedure for its production and use, the quantity of absentee certificates and the form of a register of issued absentee certificates as well as the requirements to the delivery of absentee certificates by the higher-level to the lower-level election commissions shall be approved by the Central Election Commission of the Russian Federation not later than 60 days before voting day. The absentee certificate shall have free spaces for entering the surname, first name and patronymic of the voter and the number of the electoral precinct where the voter is included in the voter list at the place of residence. The order for production of absentee certificates shall be placed by the Central Election Commission of the Russian Federation on the basis of its decision. Absentee certificates shall be delivered from the higher-level to the lower-level election commissions on the basis of the decision of the higher-level election commission on the distribution of absentee certificates among lower-level election commissions, in accordance with the procedure established for the delivery of ballots. The responsibility for the delivery and safekeeping of absentee certificates shall be borne by the chairmen of election commissions which deliver, accept and keep absentee certificates.

2. A voter unable, on voting day, to come to the polling station of an electoral precinct where he is included in the voter list may receive an absentee certificate from the territorial election commission (45 - 25 days before voting day) or the precinct commission (19 and less days before voting day) and take part in the voting in the electoral precinct where he will be staying on voting day.

(as amended by Federal Law No. 64-FZ of April 26, 2007)

3. Based on a written application of a voter indicating the reasons why the voter needs an absentee certificate the election commission shall issue an absentee certificate either to the voter personally or to his representative provided with a notarized power of attorney. A power of attorney may also be certified by the administration of a hospital (if a voter is undergoing medical treatment at this hospital), by the administration of an institution where persons suspected or accused of commission of a crime are held in custody (if a voter is held in this institution as a person suspected or accused of commission of a crime).

4. The territorial election commission shall issue absentee certificates to voters or to his representative on the basis of the information about voters submitted to the territorial election commission in accordance with Part 8, Article 15 of this Federal Law. The territorial election commission shall keep a register of issued absentee certificates indicating the surname, first name and patronymic of the voter, year of birth (for voters 18 years old - also the day and month of birth), residence address. Twenty days before voting day, together with the first copy of the voter list the territorial election commission shall furnish to precinct election commissions certified excerpts from the register of issued absentee certificates indicating the data of voters registered in the territory of these electoral precincts, who received absentee certificates. Based on such excerpts precinct election commissions shall make appropriate notes in the voter list and shall remove the voter from the voter list as provided by Part 5 of this article.

(as amended by Federal Law No. 64-FZ of April 26, 2007)

5. A voter or his representative shall sign for receipt of an absentee certificate in the register of issued absentee certificates (in the territorial election commission) or in the voter list (in the precinct election commission), indicating the series and number of his passport or an equivalent identity document. After this, the voter shall be removed from the voter list of the given electoral precinct and shall not be reckoned in when the precinct election commission counts the number of registered voters to prepare its protocol of vote returns.

6. An absentee certificate shall be valid if it shows the surname, first name and patronymic of the voter, the number of the electoral precinct where the voter is included in the voter list at the place of residence and if it bears the seal of the territorial or precinct election commission and is signed by a member of the territorial or precinct election commission who issued the absentee certificate.

7. On voting day, upon production of an absentee certificate, a voter shall be put on the voter list in any other electoral precinct, after which the absentee certificate shall be withdrawn from the voter. When receiving a ballot on the basis of an absentee certificate a voter shall indicate his place of residence in the voter list.

8. On voting day, before the voting time begins, unused absentee certificates shall be cancelled. The territorial or precinct election commission shall execute a document confirming cancellation of unused absentee certificates with the indication of the quantity thereof.

Article 75. Voting Procedure

1. Voting shall be conducted from 8:00 to 20:00, local time. If the working hours of voters residing on the territory of an electoral precinct coincide with the voting time (enterprises with a continuous operating cycle, work on a rotational basis), the election commission of the subject of the Russian Federation may put forward the commencement of voting in this electoral precinct, but by not more than two hours.

2. Territorial and precinct election commissions shall inform voters about the time and place of voting not later than 20 days before voting day through the mass media or by other methods and, when early voting is to be conducted in accordance with Article 76 of this Federal Law, not later than five days before the day of early voting.

3. In electoral precincts, formed in military units, in hard-to-reach and remote areas, on ships at sea on voting day, at polar stations the precinct election commission may declare voting to be completed ahead of the time specified in Part 1 of this Article if all voters on the voter list have voted.

4. On voting day, before commencement of voting, the chairman of the precinct election commission shall declare the polling station open and shall invite the members of the precinct election commission, voters and persons indicated in Part 5, Article 29 of this Federal Law, who are present at the polling station, to examine empty stationary and mobile ballot boxes. Then the ballot boxes shall be sealed by the seal of the precinct election commission. The chairman of the precinct election commission shall also show to the said persons sealed mobile ballot boxes containing ballots marked in accordance with Parts 2-9, Article 76 of this Federal Law by early voters (if any).

5. Voting members of the precinct election commission shall receive ballots from the chairman of the precinct election commission for issuance to voters and shall sign for their receipt. After that the chairman of the precinct election commission shall invite voters to start voting.

6. Ballots shall be issued to voters included in the voter list upon production of the passport or an equivalent identity document and also an absentee certificate, if a voter votes on the basis of an absentee certificate. Each voter may receive one ballot. Before issuing a ballot to a voter a member of the precinct election commission shall make sure that the voter has not voted early, no written or oral application of the voter for voting outside the polling station has been recorded in the register mentioned in Part 2, Article 77 of this Federal Law, no members of the election commission have been sent to the voter to conduct voting outside the polling station.

7. When receiving a ballot, the voter shall write the series and number of his passport or an equivalent identity document in the voter list. With the consent or upon the request of the voter this data may be written in the voter list by a voting member of the precinct election commission. Subject to an appropriate decision of the Central Election Commission of the Russian Federation the series and number of the passport or an equivalent identity document may be entered in the voter list with the use of GAS “Vybory” during preparation of the voter list. In this case, the voting member of the precinct election commission who issues a ballot shall compare such data with the data of the document produced by the voter. The voter shall check the correctness of the entry and shall sign for receipt of a ballot. The member of the election commission who issued a ballot shall also put his signature in the corresponding column of the voter list. If a voter votes on the basis of an absentee certificate, a corresponding note shall be made in the voter list.

8. A voter shall vote by putting any mark in the box corresponding to the federal list of candidates chosen by the voter.

(as amended by Federal Law No. 107-FZ of July 12, 2006)

9. Each voter shall vote in person. Voting for other voters shall not be allowed. Ballots shall be marked in a booth or some other place specially fitted out for secret voting, where the presence of other persons shall not be allowed, save as otherwise provided by Part 10 of this article.

10. A voter who is not able to sign for receipt of a ballot or mark the ballot by himself may be assisted by another person who is not a member of the election commission, a registered candidate, an agent or an authorized representative of the political party, specifically an authorized representative for financial matters, an authorized representative of the political party’s regional branch for financial matters, an observer, a foreign (international) observer. Such voter shall orally inform the election commission of his intention to ask another person to assist him. In this case, the surname, first name and patronymic, the series and number of the passport or an equivalent identity document of the person assisting such voter shall be entered in the appropriate column (columns) of the voter list.

(as amended by Federal Law No. 64-FZ of April 26, 2007)

11. If a voter thinks that he has made a mistake when marking the ballot, he may ask the voting member of the precinct election commission who issued the ballot to give him a new ballot in place of the spoilt one. The election commission member shall issue a new ballot to the voter, note this fact in the voter list against the name of this voter and sign the note. On the spoilt ballot the voting member of the precinct election commission shall make a relevant note and shall sign the note. This note shall also be signed by the secretary of the precinct election commission, after which the ballot shall be immediately cancelled.

12. The voter shall drop the marked ballot into a sealed stationary ballot box.

13. The chairman of the precinct election commission shall maintain order at the polling station. Instructions of the chairman of the precinct election commission issued within the scope of his competence shall be mandatory for all persons present at the polling station. In the absence of the chairman of the precinct election commission his functions shall be performed by the deputy chairman of the precinct election commission, and, in the absence of the deputy chairman, by the secretary or some other voting member of the given precinct election commission authorized thereby.

14. Persons indicated in Part 5, Article 29 of this Federal Law may be present at the polling station during the voting, when votes are being counted and when the precinct election commission is preparing the protocol of vote returns. Based on the credentials of these persons the precinct election commission shall make up a list of persons who observed the progress of voting and vote counting.

15. A member of the precinct election commission shall be immediately barred from participation in its work and an observer and other persons shall be expelled from the polling station if they commit a violation of the electoral legislation of the Russian Federation. In such cases an appropriate reasoned decision shall be taken by the precinct election commission or the higher-level election commission. The law enforcement authorities shall enforce the decision and take steps to penalize the barred member of the precinct election commission, expelled observer and other persons under Russian Federation laws.

16. Political parties which registered federal lists of candidates, candidates, agents and authorized representatives of political parties as well as the organizations, which are founded, owned, possessed by the said persons and organizations and/or which have governing bodies including the said persons and organizations, other natural persons and legal entities acting upon the request or on the instructions of the said persons and organizations shall not make any arrangements for transportation of voters to polling stations.

Article 76. Early Voting

1. The election commissions of the subjects of the Russian Federation may allow all voters in one of or several electoral precincts in remote and hard-to-reach and remote areas, on ships at sea on voting day, at polar stations to vote early (but not earlier than 15 days before voting day). The Central Election Commission of the Russian Federation may allow all voters in one of or several electoral precincts formed outside the territory of the Russian Federation to vote early (but not earlier than 15 days before voting day). In this case, early voting shall be conducted in accordance with the rules established by Article 75 of this Federal Law. Immediately after the end of early voting votes cast by voters shall be counted and vote returns shall be determined in accordance with the requirements set forth in Article 79 of this Federal Law.

2. If separate groups of voters included in the voter list of the electoral precinct remain at places which are far away from the polling station and are inaccessible or hard to reach by any means of transport (in hard-to-reach and remote areas, at polar stations and other similar localities) and, therefore, early voting cannot be conducted in the whole electoral precinct in accordance with Part 1 of this article, the election commission of the subject of the Russian Federation may allow these groups of voters to vote early (but not earlier than 15 days before voting day) in the course of several days, in accordance with the procedure established by Parts 3 - 9 of this article. The Central Election Commission of the Russian Federation may allow groups of voters residing outside the territory of the Russian Federation to vote early (but not earlier than 15 days before voting day) in the course of several days, in accordance with the procedure established by Parts 3-9 of this article.

3. Early voting mentioned in Part 2 of this article shall be conducted with the use of mobile ballot boxes, the quantity of such boxes being determined by the relevant precinct election commission. Before early voting starts, on the premises of the precinct election commission empty mobile ballot boxes shall be shown to the majority of the members of the precinct election commission and to the persons mentioned in Part 5, Article 29 of this Federal Law, and an appropriate certificate shall be executed to record this fact. After that, empty mobile ballot boxes shall be sealed (seals shall be affixed to the ballot boxes).

4. Two voting members of the precinct election commission shall put their signatures at the upper right on the face of each ballot issued to an early voter and their signatures shall be certified by the seal of the precinct election commission.

5. Early voting outside the polling station shall be conducted by not less than two voting members of the precinct election commission. They shall be provided with a mobile ballot box sealed beforehand in the precinct election commission; the required number of ballots of a standard form; an excerpt from the voter list containing the data of the voters whom they are going to visit to conduct early voting, or the voter list; the necessary writing utensils (excepting pencils) for voters to mark ballots.

6. An early voter shall sign for each ballot issued to him in the excerpt from the voter list or in the voter list. Members of the precinct election commission who conduct early voting shall make a note in the said excerpt or said voter list to indicate that the voter voted early and shall indicate the date and time of voting. If a voter put his signature in the excerpt from the voter list, these notes as well as the series and number of the passport or an equivalent identity document shall be entered in the voter list after the end of early voting. The said excerpt from the voter list shall be kept together with the voter list.

7. A voter shall mark the ballot and drop it into a mobile ballot box as provided by Article 75 of this Federal Law.

8. A certificate shall be executed to record the fact of early voting, indicating the day and time of voting, the number of voters who received ballots for participation in early voting, the names of the election commission members and other persons present at the voting. This certificate shall be kept together with the mobile ballot box.

9. After the end of early voting the slots for ballots in mobile ballot boxes shall be sealed by the chairman of the precinct election commission. Arrangements for safekeeping of mobile ballot boxes shall be made by the secretary of the precinct election commission. Mobile ballot boxes shall not be opened till the beginning of vote counting at the polling station. Mobile ballot boxes containing ballots dropped there by early voters shall not be used for voting on voting day.

10. Early voting may be witnessed by persons mentioned in Part 5, Article 29 of this Federal Law. When early voting is to be conducted with the use of mobile ballot boxes, the precinct election commission shall make the same arrangements for at least two persons from among non-voting members of the election commission, observers appointed by different political parties to go to the place where early voting is to be conducted as those made for the voting members of the precinct election commission who are to conduct early voting.

11. Early voting shall be conducted only at the time established by the decision of the relevant precinct election commission. This time shall be made known to voters and persons mentioned in Part 5, Article 29 of this Federal Law through the mass media or by other methods.

12. When conducting early voting the precinct election commission shall ensure the secrecy of voting, prevent any possibility of the expression of the voters' will being distorted, make arrangements for safekeeping of ballots and ensure that the votes of voters are reckoned in when the vote returns are being determined.

Article 77. Voting Outside the Polling Station

1. The precinct election commission shall make proper arrangements to enable voters to vote if they are entitled to be on, or are included in, the voter list in the given electoral precinct but are unable to come to the polling station for valid reasons (poor health, physical disability). The precinct election commission shall also make voting arrangements for voters who are included in the voter list of the given electoral precinct but are kept in places of confinement of persons suspected or accused of commission of crimes.

(as amended by Federal Law No. 64-FZ of April 26, 2007)

2. Save as otherwise provided by Article 76 of this Federal Law, voting outside the polling station shall be conducted only on voting day on the basis of a written or oral application of a voter (which may be relayed through other persons) for voting outside the polling station. Such application may be made by a voter at any time after the formation of the precinct election commission but not later than four hours before the end of the voting time. The precinct election commission shall record all received applications in a special register and, after the end of voting, shall keep this register together with the voter list.

3. An entry in the register mentioned in Part 2 of this article recording an oral application shall indicate the time when the application was received; the surname, first name and patronymic of the voter who stated his intention to vote outside the polling station; the residence address of the voter. The entry shall be signed by a member of the precinct election commission who received the application (telephone call, message, etc.). If such application was relayed by another person, the register shall also indicate the surname, first name and patronymic of this person and his residence address. When members of the precinct election commission come to the voter, the voter shall confirm his oral application by a written application.

4. A written or oral application of a voter for voting outside the polling station must state the reason why the voter is unable to come to the polling station. The application shall contain the surname, first name and patronymic of the voter and his residence address. The precinct election commission may, at its meeting, decide that the reason why a voter is unable to come to the polling station unaided is untenable and, on this basis, refuse to allow the voter to vote outside the polling station. The election commission shall immediately inform the voter of its decision to refuse to conduct such voting.

5. At least 30 minutes before the departure of members of the precinct election commission, the chairman of the precinct election commission shall announce that commission members are going to conduct voting outside the polling station.

6. The precinct election commission shall have the necessary number of mobile ballot boxes to conduct voting in accordance with this article. The number of such boxes shall be determined by a decision of the precinct election commission.

7. Voting members of the precinct election commission who conduct voting outside the polling station shall receive ballots and sign for their receipt in the register of ballots issued for voting outside the polling station. Voting outside the polling station shall be conducted by not less than two voting members of the precinct election commission, who shall bring with them a mobile ballot box sealed beforehand in the precinct election commission; the required number of ballots of the standard form; the register mentioned in Part 2 of this article or a certified excerpt from the register containing the necessary data of the voters and the information about the received written and oral applications of voters for voting outside the polling station; the written applications for voting outside the polling station; the necessary writing utensils (excepting pencils) for voters to mark the ballots. Voting outside the polling station may be conducted by one voting member of the precinct election commission, provided that not less than two persons mentioned in Part 12 of this article are present at the voting.

8. Voting outside the polling station shall be conducted in accordance with the provisions of Article 75 of this Federal Law.

9. On the written application for voting outside the polling station a voter shall write the series and number of his passport or an equivalent identity document and shall sign for receipt of the ballot. With the consent or upon the request of the voter this data may be written on the application by a voting member of the precinct election commission. Voting members of the precinct election commission shall confirm the issuance of a ballot by putting their signatures on the written application of the voter. A corresponding note shall be made on the application when a new ballot is issued in place of a spoilt one.

10. The voting members of the precinct election commission who conduct voting outside the polling station may issue ballots only to those voters whose written or oral applications were recorded in the register as provided by Part 2 of this article.

11. The series and number of the passport or an equivalent identity document of a voter who voted outside the polling station shall be entered in the voter list by the voting members of the precinct election commission who conducted voting outside the polling station, on the basis of written or oral applications of voters. At the same time, the words "Voted outside the polling station," signed by the aforementioned commission members, shall be written in the appropriate column (columns) of the voter list.

12. When voting is conducted outside the polling station, non-voting members of the election commission, observers may be present at the voting. In this case, the precinct election commission shall make the same arrangements for at least two persons from among non-voting members of the election commission, observers appointed by different political parties to go to the place where the voting is to be conducted as those made for the voting members of the precinct election commission who are to conduct voting outside the polling station. Voting outside the polling station shall be organized so as to prevent any violations of electoral rights of citizens and distortion of the expression of voters’ will.

13. If a voter who made a written or oral application for voting outside the polling station comes to the polling station to vote after voting members of the precinct election commission were sent to him to conduct voting outside the polling station, none of the members of the precinct election commission may issue a ballot to this voter at the polling station until the members of the precinct election commission who were sent to conduct voting outside the polling station in response to a written or oral application of this voter come back and it has been established that the voter has not voted outside the polling station.

14. After the end of voting conducted with the use of each mobile ballot box the precinct election commission shall execute a certificate to record the number of ballots issued to voting members of the precinct election commission who conducted voting outside the polling station; the number of written and oral applications of voters for voting outside the polling station; the number of ballots issued to voters and returned ballots (ballots which were not used or were spoilt by voters); the information about the voting members of the precinct election commission who conducted voting outside the polling station and about non-voting members of the precinct election commission and observers who were present at the voting conducted outside the polling station.