About such a document as an absentee ballot, heard, if not all, then many citizens of our country. What is this document about? Where can I get an absentee ballot and in what cases can they be refused?
What is an absentee ballot?
According to the law, a citizen can only exercise his will, that is, "cast a vote" for one of the candidates in the election, only at one site of the election commission (EC), where he is assigned, that is, is included in the voters list. In the event that the election participant does not have the opportunity to arrive at his precinct on the voting day, a citizen can receive an absentee ballot (OM), a document giving him the right to vote once at any available polling station.
What does this document look like?
A uniform absentee certificate form does not exist for all election events. In accordance with the legislation, the type and text of this document, the form of the register, etc. are approved 60 days before the official voting day by order of the CEC of the Russian Federation.
However, for all absentee ballots, a single form has been legally established, which is followed when this document is issued. Thus, an absentee certificate must necessarily contain some information. Namely:
- The name of the event (referendum or election) to participate in which the issue of absentee ballots is made.
- Name of the document and number (indicated additionally).
- Lines for filling in by a citizen applying for absentee ballots. This section contains the full name election participant, information about the passport (a document replacing the passport).
- Lines for entering information about the polling station (precinct commission) where the citizen is assigned.
- A standard text certifying that a citizen has received an absentee ballot and his right to take part in election events at any polling station that will be available to him on election day.
- Lines for filling by the chairman or member of the election commission, a place for the press of the EC.
- Lines for the signature of the election participant, the date of receipt of the OS.
Particular attention is paid to protecting this type of document from probable falsification. In the manufacture of a typographic certificate form, watermarks are applied to the surface, a protective mesh - coating, micro font and other elements of special protection.
For what reason can a citizen use the OS?
Voters who can’t come to vote for the following reasons can receive the DT:
- The voter is away (on vacation, on a business trip, training, etc.), including abroad of the Russian Federation. In the latter case, the absentee ballot gives the right to vote in the territory of the Russian Embassy.
- The voter is in a place of temporary stay - receives treatment at a medical organization, is under arrest, etc.
- Voters are military personnel who, on duty on election day, are in divisions outside a permanent duty station.
- Voters engaged in jobs involving continuous working conditions.
The law provides special conditions to students who are temporarily registered in an educational dormitory. They have the right to vote in the election precinct, to which their temporary residence belongs. Obtaining an op-amp is not required. Similar conditions for temporary attachment to precincts are still valid for some categories of voters, for example, conscripts.
It is necessary to remember the following: the fact of issuing a citizen with an OS - this is the basis for exclusion of an electoral participant from the list of voters at his territorial polling station. However, it is this document that gives the right to vote at any polling station, including its territorial. In practice, this means that if the reason for receiving the OS is no longer relevant and the election participant arrives at the polling station at his place of residence on the day of voting, you must have your absentee ballot issued earlier.
Do I need an OS when moving to permanent residence?
One can often come across the following question: if a citizen, shortly before the voting, changes his permanent place of residence, moving to the territory belonging to the lists of another IR, does he need to take care in advance of receiving an absentee ballot?
By registering at the new permanent residence, the future voter will be automatically included in the lists of the precinct of the EC by the new place of residence. If the voting participant has doubts, he can personally verify the availability of his data in the list of the new place of residence. To do this, it is enough to go with the passport (another identification card) to the precinct election committee no more than 20 days before the voting day and to clarify whether the citizen is on the electoral lists in the new precinct.
Where to get the opamp?
The issuance of absentee ballots is handled by the election commission at the place of registration (registration). You can apply for the OS both in the territorial IR and in the election commission at your own site. It should be noted that the timing of receipt in the precinct election commissions and in the territorial ones varies.
How to find out the address and contacts of a territorial or district IK?
The addresses and contact details of the precinct and territorial election commissions can be found by election participants from several sources:
- Lists of EC plots after approval by the head of the city (municipal district) are published in the press along with regulations and laws of local self-government.
- On the official website of the regional election commission or the website of the city administration (municipal district).
- From information leaflets (election invitations) that are sent to all voters at home.
Dates for obtaining an op-amp
Obtaining absentee ballots is limited only by the terms. A citizen is obliged to inform in advance about his desire to participate in the elections at another polling station and receive a document. What are the deadlines for obtaining an OS?
From 45 to 20 days before the announced voting day, the document can be obtained at the territorial election commission. The precinct election commissions begin to issue OU to citizens within 19 days before the start of the elections and end 24 hours before the vote.
Why is it so important to get an op-amp at this time? Immediately before the start of voting, an official cancellation of absentee ballots is held at all polling stations. That is, the destruction of all unclaimed forms of this document.
Documents for obtaining an OS
To obtain an OS, a citizen will need to appear in a territorial or district IK with a passport (other document replacing him) and write an application for an absentee certificate. Other documents, including those confirming the reason for receiving the OS, are not required.
A citizen can submit an application by filling out a special form or by writing an application on a standard sheet by hand, but in compliance with all the requirements of the application form.
If a citizen cannot personally declare receipt of the OS, a proxy can do it for him, for example, one of his relatives. To do this, you need to draw up a notarized power of attorney for the representative. Instead of a notary public, when the voter is in places of temporary residence, the power of attorney can be certified by the head (administration) of the organization of stay - the chief physician, the head of the pre-trial detention center, etc.
In the application, the voter (representative by proxy) will be required to indicate the following:
- In the upper right corner - the name and number of the election commission, where the citizen (his representative) applied for the issue of OS.
- FULL NAME. and place of registration of the applicant.
- Regardless of whether the application is written by hand or filled out on a template, the reason why a citizen will not be able to arrive at the polling station on election day must be indicated.
- Please personally give the applicant (his proxy) an absentee ballot to vote.
- Signature and date of preparation and submission of the application.
What information is required to be indicated in the DT?
What information should be provided and how to fill out an absentee ballot? (A sample is presented in the article.) An absentee certificate form is filled in personally by hand. The following information should be indicated in the OS lines:
- Full surname is the name and patronymic of the election participant.
- Information about the passport (another identification document).
- The number and address of your territorial polling station.
Further, the absentee certificate is filled in by the chairman or a member of the EC who certifies the document with his signature and the seal of the EC.
Shelter is lost - can I get a duplicate?
Regardless of which government apparatus the elections are held in, absentee ballots can only be obtained once. In case of loss (damage), the issuance of a duplicate of this document is not provided by law.
How to vote on the op-amp?
How is the absentee ballot received in elections used? The voting procedure for this type of document is as follows:
- On the election day appointed by law, a citizen must appear at the polling station of his choice, carrying a passport (a replacement document) and an absentee ballot.
- The OS is presented to the responsible member of the election commission, on the basis of this document the election participant is additionally included in the voters list.
- A note is made that a citizen takes part in the election by absentee ballot.
- An absentee ballot (or a tear-off ticket, if available on this form) is withdrawn from the election participant by a member of the commission.
- Further voting is carried out by a citizen in the usual manner.
OA alternative - off-site voting
Voting by absentee ballots is often confused with another procedure provided for by electoral law, which allows voting to take place without a personal presence at one polling station. We are talking about voting outside the precinct, that is, the delivery of the ballot box to a house or other place of residence of a citizen. Legislators emphasize: it is impossible to simultaneously submit an application for voting outside the precinct and the issuance of OS - in fact, these methods of expression are mutually exclusive. Delivery of the ballot box to a citizen is possible only from the IR, in the lists of which the citizen is included as a voter at the place of registration, while the public administration excludes the citizen from these lists.
Do not give absentee ballots - what to do?
The voter may not be denied the receipt of an absentee ballot at the election commission or forbidden to take part in voting on the ballot on the appointed election day.
As a rule, violations in the field of issuance of this document occur relatively infrequently. But if the voter's right to receive an absentee ballot is violated, what can be done in this case?
- Write a complaint to the head of the territorial election commission of the city (municipal district). It is necessary to indicate in detail the circumstances of the violation of electoral rights, the data (surname and position) of a member of the EC who refused to issue the voter with a ballot. The complaint can be submitted to the Secretary of the EC under the signature on the second copy, or sent to the territorial IR by registered letter. Also on the official website of the election commission, it is possible to leave a complaint online.
- If you have not properly responded to the complaint, you can contact the regional (regional) IR. Additionally, it makes sense to refer to the site “Voice” - a public movement that monitors violations during the elections.
- File a lawsuit for violation of electoral rights and inaction of authorities.