The Russian publication Meduza has attempted to analyze voter turnout for the recent presidential election in Russia, concluding it was the "most falsified election in the country's history."
Kremlin leader Vladimir Putin, running as a self-nominated candidate, supposedly garnered 87.28% of the votes with a reported turnout of 77.44%.
Unmatched Scale of Falsifications
According to the data that journalists managed to collect, the scale of falsifications is difficult to accurately pinpoint.
However, the level of vote rigging surpassed that observed in the 2018 elections, which already saw results annulled at over a third of polling stations across the country.
The publication suggests a variety of fraudulent practices contributed to the inflated results, including the physical addition of ballots for certain candidates into ballot boxes.
Meduza also points out another method of manipulation, where votes were shifted from one candidate to another without the physical addition of ballots, effectively changing the overall turnout numbers.
A peculiar observation by Meduza revealed that the reported turnout at some polling stations was not only identical but also evolved in a consistent manner over time. This suggests that some local or regional election commissions were fabricating turnout figures outright.
