Without updating their address abroad, Ukrainians may be left without access to future elections

Central Election Commission urges Ukrainians who are abroad to update their electoral address in advance through the services of the State Voter Register. It is from this, as the commission explains, that the ability to form high-quality voter lists and to open additional polling stations outside Ukraine will depend. This was stated on 23 March 2026 during the forum of the Civic Network OPORA “Key challenges of electoral democracy after the great war” by a member of the commission, CEC member Viktoria Hlushchenko.

According to a representative of the CEC, creating new polling stations abroad is directly linked to how many citizens notify the state in advance of their intention to vote there. The commission believes that without active registration of Ukrainians outside the country it will be difficult to properly guarantee universal suffrage after the end of the war.

“In our view, the most effective measure to ensure voting rights would be active registration of voters abroad. And depending on how effectively we can communicate with voters, we will be able to ensure universal suffrage”, – explained Viktoria Hlushchenko.

The CEC emphasizes that services for changing the electoral address are already operating online, however citizen activity so far remains low. Hlushchenko noted: the number of people who have already used this opportunity is, “unfortunately, insignificant” and “not even in the thousands”. She urged Ukrainians abroad to update their data now to help the state organize future elections in accordance with international standards.

State Secretary of the MFA Oleksandr Karasevich said that organizing elections abroad will require Ukraine at least six months, as well as changes to legislation and an expansion of the network of polling stations beyond diplomatic missions. Earlier the MFA also explained that the right of Ukrainian citizens to vote abroad does not depend on being on the consular register. Consular registration itself is a separate administrative procedure, for which a fee of 20 dollars or 18 euros is charged for those who need that service.

Earlier we wrote:

• 40 percent of Mykolaiv residents would elect a new President: 34 percent support Zelensky
• Elections in question: Arakhamia admitted that the process can be delayed for years
• 20 billion for ballots: elections in Ukraine could become the most expensive in history
• Zelensky is preparing elections as early as summer: Poroshenko removed by sanctions, Zaluzhnyi — by fear
• “Remote work from Miami”. A CEC member left before the invasion and during that time received one and a half million from the budget