Some 700 Vote in Russia's Parliamentary Elections at Embassy in Washington

Hundreds of Russian nationals turned up to vote in the country's parliamentary elections at the Russian embassy in Washington, a RIA Novosti correspondent reported from the city.

WASHINGTON (Sputnik) — As of 13:00 local time (17:00 GMT), some 700 voters cast their ballot in Washington, as well as external voting stations in Miami and Chicago, according to the local polling station's election commission.

"Judging by the last elections, we expect up to 3,000 people," the election commission vice head said.

Votes will be counted after voting ends at 20:00 local time.

Observers from the liberal Yabloko and People's Freedom Party said that voting was smooth and no violations were recorded.

"We must ensure an accurate count and regular voting, regardless of our political beliefs," Yabloko observer Andrei Sarafanov said.

Voters included entire families as well as Russian citizens currently traveling to the United States.

A total of 13 polling stations are open across the United States, eight of these in cities without Russian diplomatic and consular missions. Cities with permanent Russian representations include Washington, as well as New York, San Francisco, Houston and Seattle.

More than 111 million eligible voted to elect 450 lawmakers for the next five years on Sunday. The voting took place at 95,000 polling stations across Russia and in diplomatic missions in 145 countries.