Pass the EDG: the online voting system coped with cyber attacks by the beginning of the election

The electronic voting system worked normally — cyber attacks did not prevent Russians from making their choice, Oleg Artamonov, chairman of the DEG territorial election commission, told Izvestia. The single voting day is in full swing. The campaign was traditionally launched by the head of the Central Election Commission of the Russian Federation, Ella Pamfilova. In 81 regions, Russians elect governors and local deputies at various levels. This time, more than 1.6 thousand participants of the special operation are among the candidates. Who is following their fate with special interest and how many observers are monitoring the voting process — in the Izvestia article.

A single voting day has begun in the Russian Federation

On September 12, elections started in 81 regions of the Russian Federation, which will last until Sunday. In 20 regions, Russians will elect governors, in 11 more — deputies to legislative assemblies, and in 25 cities they will vote for representatives of municipal authorities. In total, more than 5,000 campaigns of various levels are planned.

The Central Election Commission of the Russian Federation has traditionally begun its work with the national anthem, and the elections were started by the head of the Central Election Commission, Ella Pamfilova. According to her, about 165.5 thousand people will monitor the voting process. A new digital system, Vybory, has also been launched throughout Russia, which is responsible for both campaigning and counting votes. It is important to note that it works independently from the Internet on domestic software.

At the same time, Russians had the opportunity to express their will before that. In 24 regions, the elections were held ahead of schedule. About 50 thousand people participated in them, the head of the Central Election Commission specified.

How remote voting works

In parallel with the traditional polling stations, remote electronic voting (DEG) started working at midnight Moscow time, Oleg Artamonov, chairman of the DEG territorial election commission, told Izvestia. The first region to launch the system was the Magadan Region. Despite the risk of cyber attacks, Russians have not experienced any problems with online voting.

— Hacker attacks are a reality of modern space. We have not yet received information from Rostelecom regarding their number and capacity, but they have not had any impact on the operation of the DEG. Voting started normally. There are no violations of the system," Artamonov said.

At the moment, more than a million Russians have already voted online. The turnout was 60% of those who submitted applications, the Ministry of Finance reported. The CEC of the Russian Federation expects that by the end of the first day of the EDG, 70% of those who signed up for the DEG will vote, said Nikolai Bulaev, Deputy Chairman of the CEC. As a rule, the maximum turnout at the DEG is observed on the very first day, Oleg Artamonov said. On Saturday, another peak in turnout is expected, but significantly lower — those who did not have time on Friday will vote. Finally, on Sunday, September 14, a minimum turnout is expected — no more than 5-10% of the total number of applications.

Ella Pamfilova noted that the CEC has no plans to completely abandon the traditional paper format. But sooner or later, electronic voting will "win" the traditional face-to-face format, according to political analyst Dmitry Zhuravlev. "More convenient forms have always defeated less convenient ones. Electronic voting will be in the majority, because the younger generation is computer—based," he told Izvestia.

As in previous campaigns, online voting will last 15 minutes longer than the traditional one and will close at 20:15. "The issuance of ballots ends at 20:00 local time. Those who receive it at the last minute will have another 15 minutes to send it," Artamonov said.

Participation in the elections of veterans of the SVO

Among the candidates in the elections at various levels are 1,616 participants in a special military operation, the head of the Central Election Commission said. According to her, this is a new galaxy of politicians and public figures that will gain strength.

"We will follow the fate of the candidates participating in the SVR with interest, kind attention and the kindest feelings," said Ella Pamfilova.

Earlier, Vladimir Putin called his fighters the elite and the golden fund of the future of Russia.

The results of these elections will largely show how great the chances of certain parties to be elected to the ninth convocation of the State Duma in September 2026 are. They must demonstrate whether the political forces are ready to address the issues of most concern to Russians.

"We tend to focus on presidential and parliamentary elections,— Dmitry Zhuravlev said in an interview with Izvestia. — At the same time, specific tasks affecting people's lives are being solved at the regional and municipal levels. The local government has little money, but this does not diminish the importance of the elections.

According to the political scientist, the most relevant topics for Russian society today include the support of ITS participants, the work of public utilities and the fight against inflation.