The internet voting system in Russian elections: organisational issues

Abstract

This article uses a comprehensive analysis of the current internet voting system in Russian elections to identify and describe issues with how it's organized. The author highlights and describes five main subsystems in the internet voting system: regulatory, technical, organizational, social, and communication. Based on an analysis of the regulatory framework, publications in scientific journals and materials from scientific conferences, expert reports, and conclusions, the author concludes that the problematic issues in the organization of internet voting in Russian elections include the fragmentary and insufficient nature of legal regulation, the vulnerability of the digital infrastructure of internet voting to external and internal technical threats, the limited public control of the voting process and results, the low level of public trust, the relatively low level of voter participation in internet voting compared to in-person voting at polling stations in most regions of Russia, and the shortcomings of its information support. The author believes that solving these problems in the context of the digitalization of all spheres of society and the development of forms of expression of will is a necessary condition for improving the organization of internet voting as a means of participating in elections in Russia and increasing the legitimacy of the electoral process as a whole. Both state bodies involved in organizing and conducting elections and civil society institutions as a whole are interested in solving these problems.