Constitutional Court Rules "Clause Requiring Two Assistants or Family Members to Accompany Disabled Voters is Constitutional"

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Hyung-min] The Constitutional Court has ruled that the provision in the Public Official Election Act requiring voters with disabilities who find it difficult to vote alone and cannot be accompanied by family to be accompanied by two activity assistants does not violate the Constitution.

On the 7th, the Constitutional Court announced that it made a constitutional ruling by a 6 (constitutional) to 3 (unconstitutional) decision in a constitutional complaint case filed by Mr. A, a Grade 1 brain lesion disabled person, who claimed that Article 157, Paragraph 6 of the Public Official Election Act, which sets conditions for accompanying voting assistants during voting for disabled voters, infringes on the secrecy of private life.

The provision stipulates that when a disabled person who has difficulty marking the ballot independently votes with the help of an assistant, if the voting assistant is not a family member, two assistants must accompany the voter.

The Constitutional Court stated, "The legislative legitimacy is recognized as it aims to prevent voting assistants from exerting undue influence on the exercise of election rights by disabled voters and to ensure the fairness of elections."

It explained that if only one person who can influence the disabled, such as a facility official, accompanies the voter, there is a high risk of problems such as proxy voting and other election fraud.

Regarding the claim that it may infringe on privacy, the court said, "The Public Official Election Act enforces voting assistants to comply with confidentiality obligations through penal provisions," and thus it does not violate the Constitution.

Mr. A filed a constitutional complaint after being stopped by an election official when he tried to vote with the help of one activity assistant who was not a family member during the 19th presidential election in May 2017.

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