Masks Required for Voting, Maintaining Over 1m Distance Between Lines... Election Commission Operating Guidelines

On the 20th, about two months before the 21st National Assembly election, officials from the Seoul Metropolitan Election Commission are posting streetlight banners encouraging voter participation near Gate 1 of the National Assembly building in Yeouido, Seoul. Photo by Jinhyung Kang aymsdream@

[Asia Economy Reporter Park Cheol-eung] The National Election Commission announced on the 19th its operational guidelines for polling stations to ensure that voters can vote with confidence despite COVID-19.

The Commission plans to conduct disinfection work at over 3,500 early voting stations and more than 14,300 polling stations on election day by the day before voting. Once disinfection is completed, no outsiders will be allowed to enter the polling stations until voting begins.

Voters coming to the polling stations must wear masks. At the entrance of the polling stations, dedicated personnel will be assigned to check temperatures using non-contact thermometers. Voters will disinfect their hands with provided sanitizer, wear sanitary gloves, and then enter the polling station.

If a person has a temperature of 37.5 degrees Celsius or higher or exhibits respiratory symptoms, they will vote at a separately installed temporary voting booth to avoid overlapping paths with other voters. The temporary voting booths will be disinfected regularly.

All election staff and observers will minimize contact with voters and wear masks and sanitary gloves. All items and equipment that voters come into contact with, as well as entrance doors, will be disinfected frequently.

Order guides at the polling stations will maintain a distance of at least 1 meter between voters inside or at the entrance of the polling stations and will circulate air inside the polling stations through regular ventilation.

The Commission has allowed people diagnosed with COVID-19 to report during the absentee voting period (March 24?28) and vote from hospitals, residential treatment centers, or their homes. Additionally, to guarantee voting rights for those diagnosed after the reporting period and staying in residential treatment centers, special early voting stations will be set up at designated residential treatment centers during the early voting period (April 10?11) and operated for a set time.

Meanwhile, the Commission plans to actively promote the "April 15 General Election Voting Participation Public Action Guidelines" through the media, the Commission’s website, and SNS. The guidelines will include instructions such as "wash hands thoroughly before going to the polling station," "prepare a mask and ID," and "refrain from talking inside and outside the polling station and maintain appropriate distance."

The Commission stated, "We will do our utmost to create an environment where voters can exercise their precious voting rights with confidence even amid the national crisis caused by COVID-19."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.