At the end of February, 90% of Russians knew about the upcoming presidential elections, while about a third of the respondents did not follow the course of the election campaign. Three quarters of Russians were going to take part in the presidential elections. Those who were going to vote were guided by a sense of duty and a desire to support their candidate. The majority of respondents were planning to vote for Vladimir Putin. Also, the majority of respondents had a positive attitude to the three-day and remote voting procedures, citing convenience. However, this was largely determined by the respondent’s general attitude towards the government.

In accordance with the current legislation, the Levada Center did not publish the results of its electoral research during the election campaign. In this press release, we publish the available data. It should be emphasized that these are not forecasts of the results, but the overview of sympathies at the time of the survey. The data obtained are balanced by gender, age and level of education, but without adjusting for the results of past voting.

The vast majority of Russians knew that the Russian presidential elections would be held in March 2024 (90%).

According to the results, three quarters of Russians (76%) at the end of February talked about their plans to vote in the presidential elections (50% replied that they would “absolutely definitely” vote, and another 26% were “most likely” going to vote), another 9% were undecided whether they would vote or not. The share of those willing to take part in the vote increased during the election campaign.

Those who were going to the polls talked about their duty to vote (47%) and their desire to support their candidate (27%). Almost one in five said that they always go to the polls (22%), 17% said that they go to vote to influence the outcome of the elections and the same number – so that their ballot is not used by others.

Those who did not intend to go to the polls cited the main reasons for their decision as confidence that their vote would not solve anything (37%), and that the elections would be unfair (21%).

The majority of Russians (79%) planned to vote at the polling station during the presidential elections, 16% of respondents said they would vote electronically.

The majority of respondents (79%) support an increase in the number of days for voting, over the past four years the share of supporters of this innovation has increased by 14 percentage points. 14% of respondents do not support an increase in the number of days allotted for voting, another 7% found it difficult to answer. Support for this procedure has gradually increased over the past few years.

Support for an increase in the number of voting days is concentrated among supporters of V. Putin’s – 86%. 44% of respondents who disapprove of the president’s activities do not support an prolongation of the voting period.

Supporters of increasing the number of days allotted for voting, first of all, talk about convenience, the opportunity to choose the right time – 68%, another 20% believe that more people will be able to vote this way.

Opponents of increasing the number of days for voting say that they do not see the point in this – 40%, and believe that it gives more opportunities for fraud and fraud – 25%, 11% said about extra costs from the budget.

At the same time, the majority of Russians (76%) consider three-day voting to be a convenient format for voters. 17% of respondents agree with the statement that three-day voting was justified only during the coronavirus pandemic, and now it makes elections less transparent.

The opinion that three–day voting was justified during the pandemic, and now it makes elections less transparent, is more common among those who barely have enough to eat – 24% who disapprove of the activities of V. Putin as president – 47%.  More often than others, they adhere to the point of view that three–day voting is a convenient format for voters, more affluent Russians (79% among those who can afford durable goods), Russians who approve of the activities of the current president 80%.

The majority of respondents also have a positive attitude towards remote electronic voting (64%). 26% of respondents have a negative attitude, another 11% found it difficult to answer.

The proportion of those who have a positive attitude towards electronic voting is higher among young people (80% under the age of 24), as well as among respondents who believe that things in the country are going in the right direction (69%). The proportion of those who have a negative attitude towards remote voting is higher among older people (29% over the age of 55), as well as those who believe that the country is moving along the wrong path (46%).

Speaking about the reasons for a positive attitude towards electronic voting, respondents most often name convenience, the ability to vote without leaving home – 88% (among those who have a positive attitude towards remote voting).

The respondents most often cited the possibilities for falsification and the general opacity of the procedure as the reasons for their negative attitude towards remote voting – 66% (among those who have a negative attitude towards remote elections), another 15% of respondents say that not everyone has Internet access, not everyone knows how to use it.

Two thirds of respondents (65%) believe that electronic voting is a convenient format for voters. 26% of respondents hold the view that electronic voting was justified only in the coronavirus, and now it makes elections less transparent, another 9% found it difficult to answer.

The opinion that electronic voting is a convenient format for voters is more widespread among young people (78% under the age of 24), more affluent Russians (72% among those who can afford durable goods), those who approve of the president’s activities – 69% of respondents. More often than others, they believe that remote elections was justified only during the pandemic, and now makes elections less transparent, respondents over 55 (29%), those who barely have enough to eat (33%), those who disapprove of the president’s activities – 54%.

The share of people who closely follow the election campaign in the run-up to the presidential election has remained virtually unchanged since the 2008 presidential election and in February 2024 amounted to 18%. At the same time, the share of those who do not follow the course of the election campaign at all grew from 24% in February 2008 to 36% in February 2024.

According to the respondents, Vladimir Putin represents the interests of the entire population (38%), security forces (33%) and ordinary people (22%). More than half of the respondents found it difficult to answer whose interests are represented by other candidates from the ballot. But it was assumed that Nikolai Kharitonov expresses the opinion of ordinary people (15%) and the poor (9%). Leonid Slutsky – that of ordinary people (11%) and the middle class (11%). Vladislav Davankov – that of the youth (9%) and middle class (8%).  Nevertheless, with regard to the last three politicians, more than half of the respondents found it difficult to answer the question of whose interests they represent. The same question was asked about Boris Nadezhdin. There was no time to form any definite opinion on this policy — three quarters of the respondents (75%) found it difficult to answer.

Of all the respondents, 78% of respondents said that they would vote for Vladimir Putin in the presidential elections of the Russian Federation.

At the same time, in terms of those who replied that they were going to vote (they gave any answer except “I find it difficult to answer” and “I would not vote”), the share of those who would vote for Vladimir Putin at the end of February was 87%.