Penza, 18 September 2016. PenzaNews. Voter turnout in the Penza region as of 12.00, Sunday, September 18, amounts to 25.3%, the spokesman for the election commission in the region told PenzaNews.

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According to him, 275,258 people voted in the Penza region.

“135,994 people voted in the 146 th single-seat district, or 25.6%, in the 147 th Lermontov district — 139,264 voters, or 25.1%,” the agency interlocutor said.

He reminded that the voter turnout in the Penza region at 10.00 was 9.3%.

The voting lists in the Penza region include 1,083,425 people.

The elections will be considered valid with any turnout. In the Penza region it has traditionally been higher than the average in Russia. So, 13 years ago, the turnout in the region during parliamentary elections it was more than 57%, in 2007 about 70%, and in 2011 almost 65%.

On September 18, one of the first to vote was the governor of the Penza region Ivan Belozertsev, State Duma deputies Leonid Levin and Sergei Esyakov, the speaker of the regional parliament Valery Lidin, the former mayor of Penza Alexander Kalashnikov, a member of the Federation Council of Russia Victor Kondrashin and other officials.

As PenzaNews reported earlier, on September 18, in addition to the State Duma elections, the region holds by-elections of deputies of the Penza City Council in the 17 th and 19 th single-member districts, the election of representatives of the Assembly of Deputies in Kamenka and Serdobsk areas, as well as deputy elections to the local authorities in 19 areas.

During State Duma elections each voter receives two ballots — the federal and single-mandate constituencies. In the first case one may vote for one of 14 parties registered by the CEC. In the second ballot, the voter gives preference to a particular candidate.

“Against all” box is not presented in both ballots. It was abolished in all types of elections in 2006, but then returned during municipal elections in 2014.