"Precious Vote? What Do You Need to Know to Vote?" When Will Election Information for People with Disabilities Improve?

4·7 By-Elections Conclude Amid High Interest
Election Information for Disabled Still Inadequate
Sign Language Interpretation, Insufficient Election Publicity Content
Need to Improve Election Information Delivery Methods

On April 7, the day of the Seoul mayoral by-election, voters are casting their precious votes. [Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Joo-mi Lee] As the April 7 by-elections concluded amid high public interest, concerns have been raised that people with disabilities are not receiving sufficient information when choosing candidates. There are calls to improve information provision methods such as election brochures and sign language interpretation to guarantee the 'substantive suffrage rights' of people with disabilities.

Interest in politics among people with disabilities is no less than that of other voters. In particular, looking at the voter turnout in presidential elections, the turnout rate for people with disabilities was 84.1% in the 19th presidential election held in 2017. This is about 7 percentage points higher than the overall turnout rate of 77.2%.

The problem lies in the fact that the current methods of providing election information do not adequately assist people with disabilities in voting. If they do not receive the necessary information to decide on candidates, the likelihood of making a rational choice decreases. This is why people with disabilities should be able to receive candidate-related information at the same level as non-disabled people.

◆ Insufficient 'Sign Language Interpretation'... 'Multiple Debate Candidates, Only One Interpreter'

Sign language interpretation conveying candidates' debate content is in a poor state. Deaf people require sign language and subtitles to understand election-related broadcasts such as candidate speeches and debates. According to the Public Official Election Act, debates and discussions hosted by the Election Broadcasting Debate Commission are obligated to provide subtitles and sign language interpretation.

However, even when multiple candidates participate, only one interpreter is assigned, causing problems such as difficulty distinguishing the candidates' speech properly. A clear example is the MBC '100-Minute Debate' broadcast on March 29. The broadcast featured a debate between Park Young-sun, the Democratic Party candidate for Seoul mayor, and Oh Se-hoon, then the People Power Party candidate for Seoul mayor.

Park Young-sun, the Democratic Party of Korea candidate for Seoul mayor, and Mayor Oh Se-hoon (then the People Power Party candidate) are seen debating. One sign language interpreter is interpreting the words of both candidates. Photo by MBC, captured from the broadcast of '100 Minutes Debate'.

Especially given the intense exchanges between the two sides, multiple interpreters should be assigned to ensure deaf viewers can fully understand the candidates' opinions. However, only one sign language interpreter worked for the entire 100-minute debate. With one person interpreting both candidates' remarks, deaf viewers had difficulty fully grasping the entire debate process.

The disability rights group 'People Breaking Down the Walls of Disability' issued a statement the day after the broadcast, pointing out this issue. The group criticized, "Since one person was interpreting sign language, deaf people could not fully perceive the nature of exchanges or remarks between the two sides," adding, "Having one interpreter convey the words of multiple candidates can restrict access to information."

There have been attempts to address the shortage of sign language interpreters. In 2017, a partial amendment to the Public Official Election Act was proposed to require two or more sign language interpreters to appear on screen during debates and discussions, but it was discarded due to the expiration of the legislative term.

◆ Limited Number of Pages for Braille Election Brochures... Visually Impaired Must Choose with Insufficient Information

Visually impaired individuals also face difficulties obtaining election information. The 'Braille Election Brochure' does not contain sufficient related information. Election brochures include content about candidates' careers, policies, and the platforms of their affiliated parties, serving as a tool to assist voters' choices.

Currently, the 'Braille Election Brochure' can contain up to twice the number of pages of the booklet-style election brochure (regular election brochure). Considering that Braille takes up more than three times the space of regular print, more than double the volume is necessary.

In particular, while text size can be reduced or edited for regular print, Braille characters cannot be scaled down. As a result, the amount of information is reduced instead of the font size. This means decisions must be made based on only part of the candidate's information.

A visually impaired person is casting a vote.

However, there has been a ruling that such election brochures do not infringe on the voting rights of visually impaired people. On September 4 last year, the Constitutional Court ruled that the provision in the Public Official Election Act limiting the number of pages of Braille election brochures to within the number of pages of booklet-style election brochures is constitutional.

The Constitutional Court stated, "If the number of pages were not limited, practical difficulties could arise due to a shortage of Braille publishing facilities, and the state could bear excessive costs. Considering regulations that require essential content to be included in Braille election brochures comprehensively, it is difficult to see this as an infringement of voting rights."

Kim Jae-wang, South Korea's first visually impaired lawyer, criticized the ruling, saying, "The Constitutional Court's reality excludes people with disabilities." In an article contributed to the People's Solidarity for Participatory Democracy's Judicial Watch Center on December 4 of the same year, Lawyer Kim pointed out, "Without exploring other alternatives, the court judged that a provision discriminating against visually impaired people solely due to practical difficulties and costs does not violate the Constitution."

He added, "(Due to the page limit on Braille election brochures) candidates or parties omit key words or slogans from the booklet-style brochures or focus on welfare policies when preparing Braille brochures," criticizing, "Braille brochures for the visually impaired are discriminating against the visually impaired."

Disability rights organizations held a press conference on the 2nd in front of the Jongno Disabled Welfare Center in Jongno-gu, Seoul, urging the full guarantee of voting rights for people with disabilities. [Image source=Yonhap News]

Faced with recurring difficulties every election, disability rights groups once again took to the streets, demanding 'full suffrage rights for people with disabilities.' On April 2, the first day of early voting for the April 7 by-elections, a response team for securing voting rights for people with disabilities (including Korea People First, the National Solidarity Against Disability Discrimination, and four other organizations) held a press conference, stating, "We have repeatedly requested the National Election Commission to improve systems to guarantee voting rights for people with disabilities during every election period, but no fundamental improvement measures have been forthcoming."

Lawyer Lee Soo-yeon of the public interest legal group NOW emphasized, "It has been over ten years since the enactment of the Act on the Prohibition of Discrimination Against Persons with Disabilities and the ratification of the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, but the voting rights of people with disabilities remain stagnant," adding, "The state should view people with disabilities as citizens and respect diversity, providing different types of support and information tailored to people with disabilities."

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