Early Voting for Russian State Duma Elections Begins in Border and New Regions

MOSCOW, August 28. /TASS/. The early period of vote to elect members of the Russian parliament’s lower chamber, the State Duma, begins on Friday in Donbass and Novorossia, as well as in eight other border regions of Russia.

These regions will have the option of holding an early vote on their territory for security reasons. The specific timeframes and formats of the voting process will be determined by election commissions in respective regions.

Early vote involving alternative formats may be held no earlier than 20 days prior to the first scheduled day of voting, or from August 28 to September 17. Possible formats of the vote include voting indoors, at home, in residential courtyards, in public places, and other suitable venues. There is also a possibility to vote in organized groups in areas that lack proper voting premises, have limited transport links, or where organizing a vote inside a facility is deemed unfeasible.

This choice is possible in the people’s republics of Donetsk and Lugansk (DPR and LPR), in the Zaporozhye and Kherson Regions. This is also an option for the Republic of Crimea and the federal city of Sevastopol, as well as the regions of Krasnodar, Belgorod, Bryansk, Voronezh, Kursk, and Rostov if a corresponding decision is made by a regional election commission.

Some eligible regions have already determined their voting dates: in the DPR it will be held between August 30 and September 17, in the Kherson Region - on September 1-17, in Sevastopol - on September 9-17, in the Kursk Region - on September 15-17.

In the Zaporozhye Region the voting process will be organized in two waves: between September 1 and 10, servicemen in the special operation zone will cast their ballot, and between September 10 and 17 village residents will make their choice.

The LPR authorities said the early vote will be organized predominantly in the republic’s border areas.

Before the start of the election campaign, Russia’s Central Election Commission recommended holding the early vote in the special operation zone between August 30 and September 17.

A separate voting procedure will be in place for citizens living in remote or hard-to-access areas, which are in 37 out of Russia’s 89 regions.

The main vote will be held on September 18, 19, and 20, 2026.