A citizen of the Russian Federation who has reached the age of eighteen has the right to take part in elections. This right is enshrined in the Constitution of the Russian Federation. Nevertheless, certain categories of citizens are deprived of this right.
According to the 32nd article of the Constitution of the Russian Federation, the right to elect to government bodies and local self-government bodies is deprived of citizens recognized by the court as incompetent, as well as citizens who are in places of imprisonment on election day by a court verdict. No other restrictions are allowed by the Constitution of our country.
If a citizen is in prison on election day, but a court decision on his case has not yet been issued, he cannot be deprived of the right to vote. In cases where the verdict of the court in the case is already known, but an application for appeal has been filed, the decision of the court cannot be considered effective. That is why the citizen retains the right to vote. In large pre-trial detention centers, where there is a sufficient number of voters, a separate polling station is formed, in small ones, prisoners who have the right to vote are entered on the voter list at the nearest polling station, and a portable ballot box is delivered separately to each voter. In both cases, the secrecy of the vote must be strictly observed, each voter must be able to fill out the ballot so that no one can see for whom he is casting his vote.
The question of whether convicted citizens should have the right to vote is controversial around the world. In Russia alone, about 800 thousand people are in places of imprisonment by a court verdict and do not have the opportunity to express their political views. 8 years ago, the European Court of Human Rights ruled that depriving prisoners of the right to vote was a violation of human rights. Such a verdict was issued against the UK. Today, Italian human rights defenders are actively involved in this issue. Perhaps in the near future the problem will be raised in other countries of the world.
