The Right to Vote: Development of the Forms of Implementation

The highest normative legal acts of most countries pay special attention to such an institution of direct democracy as elections, through which citizens exercise the right to participate in state affairs administration, determining the vectors of its development. The voting procedure allows you to take into account the opinion of everyone when making the most important decisions, which, in turn, serves as a necessary element of the harmonious development of society. This paper is devoted to active suffrage. The authors of the paper analyze the practice of holding elections at different stages of the evolution of statehood. Thus, the work describes the procedure for the implementation of active suffrage in ancient Greek policies (Athens and Sparta), the Novgorod and Pskov veche republics, on the Don among the Cossacks, as well as in a number of modern countries. After that, a conclusion is made about the variety of voting models. The authors also analyze one of its new forms — electronic, which implies the use of digital technologies. Currently, the Russian Federation is successfully using foreign experience for the most efficient functioning of electronic voting systems throughout its territory. This is a great merit of the President and the Government of the Russian Federation, the State Duma, the Central Election Commission of the Russian Federation (CEC of Russia). To sum up, the authors conclude that due to information technology, citizens have the right to choose the method of voting, and now, regardless of the location, the voter has the opportunity to express his will. This makes it possible to implement one of the basic principles of a democratic state.