Over 60% of Russians Intend to Participate in September State Duma Elections

MOSCOW, August 25. /TASS/. More than 60% of surveyed Russians said they intend to participate in the elections for State Duma deputies in September, while nearly 70% of respondents are aware of the single voting day, said Mikhail Mamonov, director of political research at the VTsIOM analytical center.

"Today, 66% declare their intention to take part in the elections, with 50% stating that they will definitely take part and 16% that they will more likely take part. We can say that the level of declared participation is high; only 18% confidently state that they will not go to the elections," Mamonov said at the roundtable of the Expert Institute for Social Research "Single Voting Day·2026: the active phase of the campaign."

Mamonov noted that there is still room to increase voter turnout, as 13% of those surveyed have not yet decided whether they will participate. According to the expert, the level of awareness about the elections has increased over the past two weeks.

"Today, 68% of respondents correctly name the date, month, and year of the elections; another 3% were able to say that the elections would be held this year, without providing any specific details about the exact date. That is, we can say that the 70% awareness threshold was overcome. And this indicator is trending upward," Mamonov noted.

He also clarified that 36% of survey participants want to vote for United Russia in September.

"We see an increase compared to previous data. At the same time, the indicators for the other three parties are quite stable: the Communist Party of the Russian Federation, New People, and LDPR maintain a figure of around 10-11%. The situation with A Just Russia is ambiguous: on the one hand, there is no significant dynamics either, but I would pay attention to the dynamics over a longer term -- that is, according to our data, the party’s indicator has dropped from 6% to 4%," Mamonov said.

According to him, awareness about the composition of the top five, as well as the individual statements and proposals put forward by United Russia among its supporters is increasing.

"This leads us to observe a shift from the undecided electorate towards United Russia," Mamonov said.

FOM survey

As Larisa Pautova, managing director of projects at the Public Opinion Foundation (FOM), noted, according to the survey, 41% of respondents will definitely take part in the elections. The survey was conducted between August 12 and 16 among 1,500 Russians.

"This is our active electorate. There is still potential, reserve: 13% are undecided, but they are more likely to vote than not. The data on the active electorate is excellent; naturally, we hope for an increase," she said.

Speaking about the party rankings, Pautova noted that the leader will remain stable -- 33% of those surveyed are ready to vote for United Russia.

"There is even a slight increase compared to the previous week," she said.

At the same time, there is interesting competition in the "second tier."

"Our sequence is as follows: LDPR -- 9%, Communists -- 8%, New People -- 8%, Fair Russia -- 4%. When recalculated for the active part: LDPR -- 8%, Communists -- 11%, New People -- 8%, Fair Russia -- 4%," said Pautova.