The Election Commission Likely to Use Regular Ballot Boxes for Confirmed COVID-19 Cases on the Presidential Election Day, 9th

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Eunmo Koo] The National Election Commission (NEC) is reportedly moving toward eliminating temporary polling booths for COVID-19 confirmed and quarantined voters on the main presidential election day, scheduled for the 9th. This follows concerns raised on the second day of early voting, the 5th, regarding poor management of polling stations for COVID-19 confirmed and quarantined voters.

On the afternoon of the 6th, the NEC reported these recurrence prevention measures in a closed briefing to the National Assembly’s Public Administration and Security Committee.

Initially, the NEC proposed two options: not setting up temporary polling booths for confirmed cases and allowing them to vote inside the polling station after general voters finish, or installing temporary booths but operating separate ballot boxes for them. However, after discussions with ruling and opposition committee members, consensus leaned toward not installing temporary polling booths. The NEC is expected to finalize this policy at an emergency full meeting at 10 a.m. on the 7th.

During the previous day’s early voting, there was no separate ballot box at the temporary polling booths for confirmed and quarantined voters. The NEC attempted to transport ballots for confirmed voters in plastic bags or cardboard boxes, which caused confusion throughout the early voting sites. The NEC explained that this was in compliance with the Public Official Election Act, which stipulates that "in an election, two ballot boxes cannot be used simultaneously per electoral district at each polling station." If the policy to use the "general ballot box" is finalized, confirmed and quarantined voters will be able to directly insert their ballots on the main election day, which is expected to resolve some of the related controversies.

Additionally, during early voting, confirmed voters began voting after 5 p.m., causing issues with proper separation of movement paths from general voters voting between 5 and 6 p.m. However, for the main election, a measure has already been established to conduct voting for confirmed and quarantined voters from 6 p.m., when general voting ends, until 7:30 p.m. Therefore, it is anticipated that movement paths will not overlap even if confirmed voters vote inside the polling station.

Meanwhile, in the emergency briefing to the Public Administration and Security Committee, the NEC agreed to conduct a full survey comparing the number of confirmed and quarantined voters who expressed their intention to vote at each polling station with the actual number of ballots cast, and to submit this data upon the request of the People Power Party.

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