Electronic voting has proved inexpensive
The Central Electoral Commission should receive more than twice as much money as previously planned on the eve of the next presidential election, – such figures include explanatory notes to the next draft federal budget. This means that the cost of the elections until 2024 can amount to over 33 billion rubles – which is significantly more than the cost of the last presidential election. In 2018, about 14 billion rubles were allocated for this purpose.
The President votes in the election of deputies using the DEG. 17. 9. 2021 Photo: kremlin.ru
Overall, such growth is not surprising if you pay attention to the context. The recent elections to the State Duma cost the state treasury almost 21.5 billion, while spending on the last campaign in 2016 was 10.3 billion rubles. Growth is quite comparable.
One more thing could surprise you here. The increase in Duma campaign spending this time is due to the fact that polling stations were open three times longer, three days, and electronic voting (EG) was used in several regions, which was not the case on a federal scale. elections before. The head of the CEC, Ella Pamfilova, discussed these measures with the professional community at the beginning of the year. Perform the old-fashioned way, with maximum face-to-face procedures. So the authorities don't hope to beat the virus by autumn 2024?
It doesn't mean. In addition to the “viral” reasons for innovation, Ella Pamfilova immediately named one more – a solution to the problem in order to facilitate and maximize citizens' access to the voting process. And that the country's leadership firmly intends to solve this problem was confirmed by the President of Russia two weeks ago. At a meeting with the leaders of the parties that moved to the State Duma, to the angry Zyuganov tirade: “A three-day campaign and administration associated with remote voting will destroy trust and destroy the entire political system when three programmers and one operator and customer determine the country's fate,” Vladimir replied. Putin: “In terms of elections and electronic voting. You know, you can't do that, but modern means and methods of expressing the will, as well as technical progress, cannot be stopped. “
The experts we have heard are not at all surprised by the increase in estimated costs. Maxim Grigoriev, a member of the RF OP, chairman of the Coordinating Council for Public Voting Control, suggested considering this problem not in terms of the amount of money, but in terms of the demand for the type of public service. In his opinion, the main thing here is that people like innovation, they support it – “it's not just about pandemic problems, but also about comfort issues”.
Evgeny Minchenko, director of the International Institute of Political Expertise, replied to the question of what could double the cost of the presidential election, saying that these funds would most likely be spent on organizing a three-day expression of will and full coverage of voting. “I don't see other options,” said the expert. Yevgeny Minchenko rejected the assumption that the money could be directed to some other expensive options, such as organizing wider access to video surveillance of what is happening in the polling stations: “So far, I do not see the authorities' special desire to organize such things. “