[Exclusive] Early Voting Chaos Leads to Ballot Paper Loss... Concerns Become Reality

Lost 1 Ballot at Early Voting Site in Suwon, Gyeonggi
Discovered Late After Ballot Box Handover

Unprecedented Confusion Erupts Nationwide
Some Registered as Deceased Unable to Vote

On the afternoon of the 5th, officials are opening an out-of-district ballot box at an early voting station set up at Seoul Station. [Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporters Seongpil Jo and Gyumin Oh] On the 6th, it was confirmed that a ballot paper was lost at an early voting station in Suwon City, Gyeonggi Province, where the 20th presidential election early voting was taking place. The concern about ballot paper loss, raised among voters due to insufficient preparation and procedural shortcomings during the early voting process, has become a reality.

According to a compilation of Asia Economy's coverage, one ballot paper went missing at the early voting station set up on the 4th floor of the Gwanggyo 2-dong Administrative Welfare Center in Gwanggyo New Town, Suwon, the day after the early voting for the 20th presidential election ended. It has not been confirmed whether this ballot paper was a leftover or a marked ballot. The Yeongtong District Election Commission reportedly only realized the loss after handing over the ballot box to the local post office following the close of early voting and opening the box.

Earlier, during the two days of early voting held nationwide from the 4th, confusion was widespread. In particular, COVID-19 confirmed or quarantined voters did not place their marked ballots directly into the ballot box; instead, election officials collected them in transport envelopes before moving them to the ballot box, raising concerns about potential loss. The Election Commission explained this as an unavoidable measure to separate confirmed cases from other voters, but the actual loss of ballots is expected to further deepen voters' distrust in early voting.

The Election Commission stated, "There are cases where voters take ballot papers out of the polling station, so the number of voters and the number of ballots issued may not match." If the commission's investigation reveals that someone intentionally stole ballot papers, an investigation by authorities will be inevitable. Under the current Public Official Election Act, stealing ballot papers is a criminal act punishable by imprisonment from one to ten years or a fine ranging from 5 million to 30 million won.

In early voting stations set up across the country, unprecedented confusion continued due to poor ballot management. At the early voting station in Yeongtong 3-dong Administrative Welfare Center, Yeongtong District, Suwon, a living voter was registered as deceased in the computer system, preventing them from voting early. The Election Commission explained, "We receive the voter list prepared by local governments and only manage the polling stations," adding, "The local government is aware of this due to a system error."

At the Manchon 1-dong polling station in Suseong District, Daegu, a report was received that a ballot paper already marked was found inside an envelope during the process of placing ballots into envelopes after confirmed patients voted. The same situation occurred at the Sinsa 1-dong polling station in Eunpyeong District, Seoul. Additionally, at the Daebong 1-dong polling station in Jung District, Daegu, an election observer was denied a request to visually confirm the number of voters in the morning and subsequently filed a complaint against the Election Commission official for obstruction of official duties.

Meanwhile, the Central Election Commission expressed regret regarding the poor management of early voting on the same day, stating, "We deeply regret and apologize for the inconvenience caused to COVID-19 confirmed voters who participated in early voting yesterday." The commission emphasized, "We will accurately identify and thoroughly review the revealed issues and promptly prepare measures so that the public can vote with confidence on election day," while also stressing, "The temporary polling station voting method implemented this time complies with laws and regulations."

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