The Reintroduction of Early Voting in Russian Elections: A Tool for Electoral Manipulation?

An important change of electoral rules in Russia in recent years has been the reintroduction of early voting in elections at all levels. Because early voting had a reputation of being prone to abuse until it was banned in 2010, its reintroduction in 2014 was met with skepticism. This study examines whether early voting has been (again) used to manipulate electoral outcomes. It draws on a dataset, compiled by the author, of all 4,467 electoral races between the federal level and the lowest level of self-government held in the first year after the reintroduction of early voting. The study finds several indications for the manipulation of elections through early voting, including a significant association between early voting and reduced electoral competition.