Ukrainians divided over remote voting – Ukrainska Pravda

A recent poll Ukrainska Pravda commissioned from the SOCIS Centre for Social and Market Research has shown that Ukrainians are divided over the idea of remote voting by post or via the Diia online government services portal: 44.2% respondents support the idea, while 48.6% oppose it. Their major concern is the risk of falsification, even as there is a lot of support for remote voting for vulnerable groups, such as soldiers and people living in frontline areas.

Source: Ukrainska Pravda’s report on whether Ukraine is prepared for online and postal voting

Quote: "Ukrainska Pravda commissioned a set of questions on remote voting to be included in a scheduled December public opinion survey by the SOCIS Centre for Social and Market Research.

The survey was conducted by telephone on 5–11 December among a representative sample across Ukraine, excluding the Russian-occupied territories. A total of 2,000 respondents were interviewed, with a margin of error of no more than 2.6%."

Details: When asked whether they support the idea of remote voting by post, via the Diia online government services portal, or by other means, the respondents gave a mixed response: 44.2% support this initiative, while 48.6% oppose it.

Quote: "This clearly indicates the need for public debate and additional discussions. This includes the question of who should be entitled to use the new opportunities if remote voting tools are introduced."

More details: When asked about the categories of people who would be allowed to vote remotely, 32.2% of respondents were strongly opposed to the idea because of fears of possible fraud. At the same time, there is considerable support for granting the right to vote to vulnerable categories: 28.7% support remote voting for the military, 20.3% for residents of the frontline territories, and 15.8% for Ukrainians abroad.

Support for remote voting for internally displaced persons was lower – 12.3%.

In addition, 28.5% of respondents support voting remotely, not only for vulnerable groups but also for all Ukrainians in general, if they wish to vote remotely.

Quote: "The conclusions regarding the introduction of remote voting in Ukraine as of the end of 2024 look disappointing for those who support this idea. Ukraine is currently not ready for postal voting, let alone online voting. 

However, sociologists report that Ukrainians understand the complexity of the challenges and are ready to look for different solutions. This readiness and understanding can and should be employed. But this is definitely not a story about "spring elections", at least not the spring of 2025.

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