ST. PETERSBURG, November 8. /TASS/. Americans living in Russian regions have voted in advance at the US presidential elections, sending ballot papers by post.
No voting is being held on Tuesday in Russian cities where US diplomatic missions are present and American electors staying on this day in various regions of Russia are only watching news on the presidential elections and their outcome in their home country.
There is no polling station in Petersburg and no voting is being held because all American electors staying in Russia have used the opportunity to vote in advance and sent their votes by post, the US general consulate in St. Petersburg told TASS.
The US diplomatic mission stressed that this procedure was defined by the US legislation: the elections are held individually in each of the 50 states, on the US territories (American Samoa, Guam, Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands) and the District of Columbia. The American consulates are providing US citizens assistance in the search for information on the voting in their states and the dispatch of filled-in ballot papers by the courier service.
Ballot papers delivered by courier service
The US general consulate in Yekaterinburg in the Urals explained that Americans living abroad should vote by correspondence in the state where they are registered.
The elections are held in each state and information on the requirements for and the time limits of voting by correspondence in a particular state can be received from the local authorities. Americans should register in advance at the electrical bodies at the level of US states, request a ballot paper for voting by correspondence and send it back before the expiry of the term of submitting ballot papers, which varies in each state. Americans can send filled-in ballot papers by post and in some states by fax or e-mail, the press office of the US general consulate in Yekaterinburg said.
The US general consulate in Vladivostok in the Russian Far East helped Americans before the elections in the United States to register for voting and get electoral ballot papers, the consulate’s press office told TASS, without specifying the number of US electors who had used this assistance.
As the US election day was approaching, the consulate was helping US citizens staying in the consular district to register for voting, get ballot papers and then return them to the United States. Most Americans staying abroad vote by post but some US states allow their electors to send their ballot papers in electronic form, the consulate’s press office said.