Yabloko proposes ‘Plan B’ after being barred from State Duma election — spoil the party-list ballot

In response to being barred from the State Duma election, Yabloko party has proposed a strategy known as "Plan B," redirecting voters to cast their ballots in person and then purposefully spoil them in the party-list vote. These ballots are considered invalid only if multiple boxes are marked, discouraging blank ballots as an alternative. The party warns this measure helps prevent others from completing the task on one’s behalf.

Yabloko's strategy targets non-parliamentary parties, similar to those which have employed lawsuits to remove the party’s candidates and lists from the elections. The party refers to this plan as a "conscience, peace, and civic responsibility" initiative, urging voters to adopt the same approach in single-mandate district races, unless a Yabloko candidate is present on the ballot.

The primary goals of "Plan B" are to secure as many single-mandate seats in the State Duma as feasible, as well as to have the party lists included in the legislative assemblies of Novgorod, Tomsk, St. Petersburg, Karelia, and Sverdlovsk, Pskov, Novgorod, and Kaliningrad regions. This strategy was implemented after Russia's Supreme Court revoked Yabloko’s federal party list from the State Duma election in early August, following a lawsuit by the Rodina party for copyright infringement and illegal payments for campaign advertising.