View source for Smart Voting

{{short description|Tactical voting strategy}}
{{distinguish|Vote Smart}}

{{expand Russian|topic=gov|date=September 2020}}
{{expand Ukrainian|topic=gov|date=May 2023}}

{{use dmy dates|date=September 2021}}
{{Infobox website
| name = Smart Voting<br>Умное голосование<br>''Umnoye golosovaniye''
| logo = Умное голосование.svg
| logo_size = 
| language = Russia
| founded = {{start date and age|2018|11|28|df=yes}}
| author = [[Alexei Navalny]]
| founder = [[Anti-Corruption Foundation]]
| url = {{URL|votesmart.appspot.com}}
}}
'''Smart Voting''' ({{lang-rus|Умное голосование|Umnoye golosovaniye}}) is a [[tactical voting]] strategy put forward by the team of [[Alexei Navalny]] with the aim of depriving the ruling [[United Russia]] party of votes in regional and federal elections. The goal of Smart Voting is to consolidate the votes of those who oppose the party which Navalny dubbed as the "[[party of crooks and thieves]]".<ref>{{cite news |author=Mary Ilyushina |title=Russia's regional elections pose serious test for pro-Kremlin party |url=https://www.cnn.com/2020/09/13/europe/russia-regional-elections-intl/index.html |accessdate=28 September 2020 |work=CNN |archive-date=27 September 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200927225132/https://www.cnn.com/2020/09/13/europe/russia-regional-elections-intl/index.html |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite news |title=With 'Smart Voting,' Russian Opposition Takes Aim At Putin's Party |url=https://www.rferl.org/a/russia-smart-voting/30153235.html |accessdate=28 September 2020 |work=RadioFreeEurope/RadioLiberty |language=en |archive-date=18 September 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200918132003/https://www.rferl.org/a/russia-smart-voting/30153235.html |url-status=live }}</ref>

== History ==
On 28 November 2018, [[Alexei Navalny]] launched the Smart Voting project. Initially, the system was mainly aimed at depriving the nominees from the politically dominant [[United Russia]] party of their victory in the elections to the post of [[Governor of Saint Petersburg|Governor of St. Petersburg]] and the [[Moscow City Duma]] on 8 September 2019. Navalny explained the strategy as follows (translated from Russian): "The parties themselves cannot agree and nominate a single candidate against United Russia. But we can agree on this. We are different, but we have one policy — we are against the monopoly of United Russia. Everything else is mathematics. If we all act smartly and vote for the strongest candidate, he will win, and United Russia will lose."<ref>{{Cite web|author=|date=|title=Навальный запустил проект 'Умное голосование'. Он должен объединить оппозицию, чтобы победить 'Единую Россию' в регионах|url=https://www.novayagazeta.ru/news/2018/11/28/147156-navalnyy-zapustil-proekt-umnoe-golosovanie-on-dolzhen-ob-edinit-oppozitsiyu-chtoby-pobedit-edinuyu-rossiyu-v-regionah|website=Новая газета|publisher=|access-date=24 December 2020|archive-date=8 September 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210908030833/https://novayagazeta.ru/news/2018/11/28/147156-navalnyy-zapustil-proekt-umnoe-golosovanie-on-dolzhen-ob-edinit-oppozitsiyu-chtoby-pobedit-edinuyu-rossiyu-v-regionah|url-status=live}}</ref>

== Reception ==
According to a research paper by political analysts Ivan Bolshakov and Vladimir Perevalov, Navalny’s Smart Voting strategy, on average, improved the results of opposition candidates by 5.6% in the September [[2019 Moscow City Duma election]]. While Smart Voting played a decisive role in the victory of several candidates, it took away votes from approximately the same number of opposition representatives.<ref>{{Cite journal|url=http://politeia.ru/files/articles/rus/Politeia-2020-1(96)-50-73.pdf|title=Consolidation or Protest? "Smart Voting" in Moscow Elections|author=Ivan Bol’shakov, Vladimir Perevalov|journal=The Journal of Political Theory, Political Philosophy and Sociology of Politics Politeia|year=2020|volume=96|pages=50–73|language=ru|access-date=20 December 2020|doi=10.30570/2078-5089-2020-96-1-50-73|s2cid=216368218|archive-date=6 April 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210406143445/http://politeia.ru/files/articles/rus/Politeia-2020-1(96)-50-73.pdf|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=http://electoralpolitics.org/en/articles/otsenka-effektivnosti-umnogo-golosovaniia-spor-analiticheskikh-podkhodov/|title=Assessing the Effectiveness of "Smart Voting" Strategy: A Discussion of Analytical Approaches|author=Ivan Bolshakov, Vladimir Perevalov|website=Electoral Politics. 2020, 3:1|language=en|access-date=22 December 2020}}</ref>

According to political scientist [[Abbas Gallyamov]], the percentage of votes for [[United Russia]] in the [[Russian Public Opinion Research Center]]'s forecast for the [[2021 Russian legislative election]] is significantly overestimated and the percentage of votes for the [[Communist Party of the Russian Federation]] is significantly underestimated. For Gallyamov, no more than 26–27% of those who stand at the polls would vote for United Russia, and Smart Voting is a tool that could deliver a significant blow to the [[ruling party]], which in his view explains why the authorities attacked it.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://tvrain.ru/teleshow/here_and_now/dlja_vlastej_zhiznenno_vazhno-537601/|title='Dlya vlastey zhiznenno vazhno razrushit' 'Umnoye golosovaniye': Abbas Gallyamov — o rasklade sil pered vyborami v Gosdumu|script-title=ru:'Для властей жизненно важно разрушить 'Умное голосование': Аббас Галлямов — о раскладе сил перед выборами в Госдуму|trans-title='It is vitally important for the authorities to destroy 'Smart Voting': Abbas Gallyamov on the balance of power before the elections to the State Duma|agency=TV Rain|language=ru|date=10 September 2021|accessdate=21 September 2021|archive-date=10 September 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210910151553/https://tvrain.ru/teleshow/here_and_now/dlja_vlastej_zhiznenno_vazhno-537601/|url-status=live}}</ref>

== Censorship ==
In September 2021, two weeks before the [[2021 Russian legislative election|State Duma election]], Moscow Arbitration Tribunal issued an injunction prohibiting [[Google]] and [[Yandex]] from creating a list of results for the search query Smart Voting. The lawsuit against both companies was brought by Woolintertrade, a company whose main activity is the wholesale of agricultural raw materials. Earlier in the summer, the company received approval from ''[[Rospatent]]'', the Russian governmental agency in charge of intellectural property, to register the Smart Voting trademark and then sued for trademark protection. The court then approved the block as an interim measure.

At the same time, ''[[Roskomnadzor]]'', the Russian federal executive agency responsible for monitoring, controlling and censoring Russian mass media, restricted access to the Smart Voting website insisting that the website was used to continue the activities of the "extremist" organization [[Anti-Corruption Foundation]]. ''Roskomnadzor'' also warned [[Apple Inc.|Apple]] and Google that they were risking fines by not removing the Smart Voting app from their app stores; the warning said that not blocking the app could be interpreted as "interference in Russian election".<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://then24.com/2021/09/06/no-smart-voting-court-forbids-google-and-yandex-to-display-word-combinations-as-search-results/|title=No 'smart voting': Court forbids Google and Yandex to display word combinations as search results|website=then24|language=en|access-date=7 September 2021}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.dw.com/en/russia-google-told-to-clamp-down-on-navalnys-smart-voting/a-59092740|title=Russia: Google told to clamp down on Navalny's 'Smart Voting'|website=DW|language=en|access-date=7 September 2021|archive-date=6 September 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210906181926/https://www.dw.com/en/russia-google-told-to-clamp-down-on-navalnys-smart-voting/a-59092740|url-status=live}}</ref> On 17 September, Apple and Google complied with ''Roskomnadzor''{{'}}s demands and removed the app from their app stores.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.vox.com/recode/22680010/russia-apple-app-store-smart-voting-monopoly|title=Apple shut down a voting app in Russia. That should worry everyone.|website=Vox|date=17 September 2021 |language=en|access-date=20 September 2021}}</ref> Later that day, [[Telegram (software)|Telegram]] messenger blocked a Smart Voting [[chat bot]].<ref>{{cite news |title=Telegram Messenger Blocks Navalny's Bot During Vote |url=https://www.rferl.org/a/telegram-navalny-smart-voting/31466263.html |website=RadioFreeEurope/RadioLiberty |date=September 18, 2021 |access-date=September 21, 2021 |archive-date=18 September 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210918221938/https://www.rferl.org/a/telegram-navalny-smart-voting/31466263.html |url-status=live }}</ref> On September 15, regulators temporarily blocked [[Google Docs]] where the list of Smart Voting endorsements had been released. Navalny's team subsequently published the list to [[GitHub]].<ref>{{cite news |title=Russia Starts Blocking Google Docs After Navalny Shares Anti-Kremlin Vote Strategy – Monitor |url=https://www.themoscowtimes.com/2021/09/16/russia-starts-blocking-google-docs-after-navalny-shares-anti-kremlin-vote-strategy-monitor-a75059 |website=The Moscow Times |date=September 16, 2021 |access-date=September 21, 2021 |archive-date=21 September 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210921050113/https://www.themoscowtimes.com/2021/09/16/russia-starts-blocking-google-docs-after-navalny-shares-anti-kremlin-vote-strategy-monitor-a75059 |url-status=live }}</ref> Google Docs and [[YouTube]] removed the Smart Voting lists following a Roskomnadzor demand on September 18.<ref>{{cite news |title=Google Docs has blocked the lists of "Smart Voting" published there |url=https://www.perild.com/2021/09/19/google-docs-has-blocked-the-lists-of-smart-voting-published-there/ |website=Perild |date=September 19, 2021 |access-date=September 21, 2021 |archive-date=21 September 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210921050117/https://www.perild.com/2021/09/19/google-docs-has-blocked-the-lists-of-smart-voting-published-there/ |url-status=live }}</ref>

== References ==
{{reflist}}

{{Anti-Corruption Foundation}}
{{Alexei Navalny}}

[[Category:Alexei Navalny]]
[[Category:Elections in Russia]]
[[Category:Voting theory]]