Russian officials entered public-sector employees’ data into an electronic database without their consent to monitor voter turnout, legal aid project says

During recent elections to Russia’s State Duma, officials intensified monitoring of public-sector employees' turnout at polling stations, according to legal aid project Na Ravnykh. The extent of monitoring differed across regions. In Khabarovsk, school employees were compelled to vote for incumbent Mayor Sergei Kravchuk or United Russia State Duma deputy Maxim Ivanov.

They were also asked to submit a photo of their completed ballot to their school principal, as reported by Vyacheslav Pilnikov, regional coordinator of the Uchitel teachers' union. According to Pilnikov, officials established an electronic database named "We Are Together" to track turnout. School administrations entered employees' phone numbers into this database without their consent.

Employees had to call a designated number after voting, and the system recorded such calls. At a meeting in Khabarovsk, officials instructed school principals to verbally convey these instructions, implying that complaints could be dismissed as "recommendations." In Moscow, an employee at one institution was warned that she would be reminded to vote for three days due to her voting choice.

Another Moscow employee claimed that management "sees from the lists" who did not vote. In Tula region, where electronic voting was not utilized, officials monitored turnout via a "quiz" where employees had to scan a code at the polling station to participate.