EVERYTHING GOES ACCORDING TO PLAN
“It’s as if Muscovites have heard our call not to rush to vote for everyone at once at 8 a.m.,” they discussed today at the Public Election Observation Headquarters in Moscow.
Let us remind you that on September 6-8, the elections of deputies to the Moscow City Duma and deputies of Kurkino and TiNAO municipal districts will be held in the capital. Unlike in March of this year, when during the presidential elections everyone seemed to be in a hurry to fulfill their civic duty among the first, which caused electronic queues, today the voting process started calmly. No electronic queues were recorded.
We have seen for ourselves: one after another, a member of the Moscow Public Chamber, Alexander Asafov, and the head of the Moscow Public Election Monitoring Office, Vadim Kovalev, voted directly from their smartphones. A couple of minutes and that’s it.
“At 8 a.m. all 1,440 polling stations opened,” said Olga Kirillova, chairwoman of the Moscow Election Commission. – At the same time, electronic voting started. And I also voted online, without any delays.
24 HOUR SUPERVISION
Along with the members of the electoral commissions, public observers who had previously received special training also attended the polling stations:
“Our observers in vests, look here on the screen,” Vadim Kovalev demonstrates the capabilities of the election observation center: at all polling stations in the capital there is access not only to cameras, but also the possibility of enlarging the image or rewinding the recording in order to understand any incomprehensible situation. How to act in controversial moments is decided collectively in the analysis group.
The situation at the sites is monitored 24 hours a day (yes, even at night) from the video surveillance center. Here volunteers change every 2 hours so that their eyes do not blur. Everyone has at hand an algorithm of actions for different cases: an incomprehensible crowd of people, a conflict situation, an emergency, etc. These are the “eyes” of the headquarters, and they watch both without sleep or rest.
Party representatives are also on the alert: they have been equipped with a video surveillance centre for the candidates. There is also a live broadcast from the polling stations to the workplaces.
FIRST ATTACKS
At the time of this publication, more than a million people had already voted in Moscow. The first attacks on the electronic voting system were also recorded:
“There were six attacks, all of them were successfully repelled, voting is going on as usual,” Vadim Kovalev said.
Voting at polling stations is also proceeding calmly. The Moscow Election Commission has not received any comments.
We remind you that from September 6 to 8 you can vote at polling stations from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m.
A paper ballot will be given to those who vote at their place of registration and have requested this particular type of voting in advance.
Electronic voting terminals are also installed at all polling stations. Given that a single list of voters has been created in the capital, voting can be done through such a terminal in any district of the city, after which the system will “mark” that the person has voted and block repeated attempts to use his name.
In addition, from 8 a.m. on September 6 to 8 p.m. on September 8, voting will be possible online at any time of the day or night.
