Opposition deputies lashed out at the legislation, which they said would compromise voters' ability to voice concern. Voters have boycotted elections in the past to express dissatisfaction.
"It's hard to imagine a more undemocratic bill," said Sergei Baburin, leader of People's Will. "Now, we will only have an opposition that is allowed [by the state]."
The change would marginalize opposition parties and bring Duma elections under state control, much like the state has taken control over the selection of governors and leaders of the Russian Academy of Science, who were once elected by popular vote, Rodina Deputy Boris Vinogradov said. "It is a corporate government's move, creating a corporate voter for itself," Communist Deputy Ivan Melinkov said. "The electoral system will become lifeless."
United Russia Deputy Mikhail Yemelyanov denied that his party, which controls the Duma, was amending electoral law for its own gain. The bill will bring the law in line with those of other countries, he said, without elaborating.
Liberal Democratic Party of Russia Deputy Alexei Mitrofanov praised the measure as a way to end electoral "blackmail by low turnout." Responding to concerns that the bill might mean that elections would no longer be determined by a majority, Mitrofanov said they never had been. "The active minority is always making the decisions," he said.
Deputies passed the bill by a vote of 342-99. The bill still must be approved by the Federation Council before it can be signed into law by President Vladimir Putin. The law currently requires at least 25 percent of the electorate to vote in Duma elections and 50 percent in a presidential poll for the results to be valid.
Friday's bill also would allow the authorities to refuse to register or to revoke the registration of candidates deemed to have engaged in extremist activities. Another provision would prohibit the dissemination of negative information about any candidate.
Developing democracies use voter turnout requirements to persuade more people to vote. Political analyst Iosif Diskin said it was too early for Russia to scrap the turnout rule because it has never even conducted two elections under the same electoral law.
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