Nikolai Rybakov’s Facebook page, 29.04.2019

Today, the Moscow City Duma adopted in first reading a draft law on electronic voting at the elections of Moscow deputies. We are categorically opposed to the introduction [of the law], because it will only worsen the situation with people’s confidence in the elections.

The main reason why people do not participate in elections is their confidence in the lack of transparency in the counting of votes. People believe that their vote can not affect the results of the vote. And that is what needs to be fixed first.

Introduction of the electronic voting system will not have a positive impact on the legitimacy of the electoral process, since even the organisers admit that they can neither ensure the secrecy of the vote and the absence of interference of employers in it, nor give guarantees that the codes of people from the Gosuslugi [State Services] system will get to the persons who are interested  in a certain [voting] result of some individuals (after all, everyone understands that the “State Services” are controlled by state bodies, and this is the “United Russia”[party]).

Therefore, it is obvious that in the end, electronic voting will only further undermine the credibility of Russians to elections.

It is necessary first to make sure that people trust the counting process, that they believe that their votes change something, and only after this to talk about new technologies.

And in Moscow, electronic voting is simply pointless: Muscovites have no problems with access to their polling stations, they are all within walking distance.

Source

Nikolai Rybakov is Deputy Chairman of the Yabloko party