Voting on amendments to the Constitution of Russia: how to participate if you are in the USA

At the official Facebook page The Russian embassies in the United States have published recommendations on how to prepare and take part in the all-Russian vote on the approval of amendments to the Constitution of the Russian Federation. This was told by Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary Anatoly Antonov.

Photo: Shutterstock

July 1, 2020, Russian citizens living abroad can take part in the vote, which will be held from 8:00 to 20:00 in the precincts located on the premises of the Embassy and Consulate Generals in the United States:

- at the Embassy of the Russian Federation (site No. 8388) at 2650 Wisconsin Ave NW, Washington, DC 20007, (tel.: +1-202-939-8907, +1-202-298-5700);

— at the Russian Consulate General in New York (Consulate General of Russia in New York, plot No. 8274) at 9 East 91 Street, New York, NY 10128, (tel: + 1-212-534-3782, + 1-212-348-0750);

— at the Russian Consulate General in Houston (Consulate General of the Russian Federation in Houston, plot No. 8277) at 1333 West Loop South, Ste. 1300, Houston, TX 77027, (tel: + 1-713-337-3300).

The Embassy also recommends reading the texts. Constitution of the Russian Federation и Law on Amendment to the Constitution of the Russian Federation.

To receive a voting ballot on the day of application, a citizen must have a valid passport of a citizen of the Russian Federation or a certificate of return to the Russian Federation.

Citizens permanently residing in the United States, the Embassy is also recommended to have a driver's license (another document) with the address.

As the ambassador explained, the pandemic situation has made adjustments to the organization of the vote. According to him, the sites strictly follow the recommendations of the Federal Service for Supervision of Consumer Rights Protection and Human Welfare. The ambassador asked his compatriots to come to the polling stations in face protection and gloves, as well as bring their own ballpoint pens. But if you forget to take one of the above, it can be obtained locally. Social distance measures will also be taken.

Additional information on voting can be obtained on the websites of the CEC of Russia

• cikrf.ru
• cycl.rf
• constitution2020.rf in the section "All-Russian Voting on July 1, 2020", as well as on the above phones.

Learn more on the site Embassies of Russia in the USA.

On the subject: Putin wants to add a text about God to the Constitution of the Russian Federation: how religion and politics are connected in the USA

The essence of the amendments is another 16 years of Putin in the Kremlin:

• In March 2020, the Constitutional Court of Russia approved the content of all amendments to the Constitution, including the cancellation of the term of the presidency of Vladimir Putin (which means that he will be able to remain in power until 2036) and the all-Russian voting procedure provided for their entry into force.
• The Constitutional Court recognized the nullification of the term of presidential powers admissible, effectively canceling its previous position on this issue, which in 1998 forbade Boris Yeltsin to run for a third term. The Constitutional Court indicated that now the amendment to the Constitution, allowing Vladimir Putin to run for president in 2024, contains a “special clause” for this, which was absent when the 1993 Constitution was adopted.
• The Constitutional Court does not object to the expansion of its powers for Russia's refusal to execute decisions of any international or foreign courts, including international arbitration, moreover, on the basis of the supremacy not of the Constitution, but of a certain “public order” not defined in the Basic Law.
• The supreme Russian court upheld the limitation of the possibility of citizens applying there until “the exhaustion of other judicial remedies”. The Constitutional Court confirmed that it was a matter of passing all instances (on appeal and cassation) of disputes in other courts. This significantly limits the access of citizens to the Constitutional Court, since appealing decisions in all instances often requires a waste of time and money.
• A number of amendments, from the rules on “historical truth” to the definition of children as “the most important priority of state policy”, in the opinion, the Constitutional Court are “non-political, supra-party and non-religious in nature” and cannot be regarded, interpreted and applied as establishing a state or mandatory ideology, changing principles of pluralistic democracy and secular nature. ” At the same time, the Constitutional Court forbade casting doubt on the status of Russia as the successor of the USSR.
• They also propose to include indications of faith in God in the Constitution: the Constitutional Court considered that this “does not mean a rejection of the secular nature of the Russian state, [...] since in its wording it is not associated with confessional affiliation, it does not declare the presence of certain religious beliefs as binding in the Russian Federation ".
• Approved the Constitutional Court and the provision on the Russian language as "the language of the state-forming people." The Constitutional Court agreed with "an objective recognition of the role of the Russian people in the formation of Russian statehood, the continuation of which is the Russian Federation," believing that this "does not detract from the dignity of other peoples."
• The defense of “the institution of marriage as a union of a man and a woman”, in the opinion of the Constitutional Court, “cannot be considered incompatible” with the main chapters of the Constitution, while the corresponding amendment, like a number of others, should be understood “in strict accordance with the requirements of these articles and cannot be applied in conflict with them. " The ban on gay marriage of the COP at the same time substantiated as detailed as possible.

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