Russia's Central Election Commission intends to expand the use of drones in elections

CEC head Ella Pamfilova announced plans to expand the use of UAVs and crewless vessels in elections after the September experiment in six regions. Drone delivery of ballots was tested in Karelia, Krasnodar and Primorsky territories and several regions; the expansion is planned without additional budget spending.

Aziz KarimovFirst published on tafs uz 9 November 2026 at 12:272 min read

The key facts

In September 2026, drones were used in elections for the first time to deliver election documentation — the experiment took place in six Russian regions.
Ella Pamfilova announced plans to expand the practice, including voting from ships at sea via crewless boats.
According to her, the introduction of the technology will rely on the resources of large companies without budget expenditures.

From experiment to expansion

In September 2026, Russian elections used unmanned systems for the first time — both aerial drones and crewless vessels — to deliver election documentation. The head of Russia's Central Election Commission, Ella Pamfilova, said the commission now intends to expand this practice. She spoke about the plans at a Rossiyskaya Gazeta.

How the September experiment went

In September, drones were used to deliver election documentation as an experiment. According to Pamfilova, this made it possible to quickly move documents to hard-to-reach and remote areas and to save money. The experiments took place in Karelia, Krasnodar and Primorsky territories, as well as in the Arkhangelsk, Kemerovo and Sakhalin regions.

What is planned next

The head of the CEC explained that the capabilities of drones are not limited to delivering documentation: the technology could enable voting by those who are physically unable to visit a polling station. As an example, she described a scheme for a vessel at sea: the crew is delivered ballots, the crew members vote, draw up a protocol, seal everything in a security pouch and send it back by drone.

Funding at companies' expense

According to Pamfilova, specialists are studying the resources of large companies so that introducing such technologies does not require government funds: no budget money will be requested for this, she assured,

Context

Thus, the September experiment in six regions has moved to a stage of studying possibilities for broader use: the CEC is assessing regional specifics and companies' resources, but the publication does not report which specific regions or when the next stage will take place.