Constitutional Court: "Pre-Stamped Early Voting Ballots Do Not Violate Voting Rights"

Unanimous Agreement: "Other Institutional Measures Exist... Low Possibility of Forged Ballots Infiltration"

The Constitutional Court has ruled that the legal provision allowing the seal imprint on early voting ballots to be replaced by a printed seal when the serial number is not detached and handed to the voter or when the early voting manager stamps the ballot does not violate the Constitution.

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On the 26th, the Constitutional Court dismissed the constitutional complaint case regarding Article 158 of the Public Official Election Act with a unanimous decision by all justices. The issuance of early voting ballots with QR codes was dismissed with a unanimous opinion of the entire bench.

The petitioners argued that ▲the early voting manager handing over ballots to voters without detaching the serial number ▲issuing early voting ballots with QR codes ▲replacing the seal imprint on ballots by the early voting manager with a printed seal infringes on voting rights.

The Constitutional Court stated, "With the introduction of the early voting system, to minimize risks such as forgery and copying using digital devices, a barcode-based serial number system, which allows more accurate and easier identification of counterfeit ballots, was adopted," and judged that "detaching and storing serial numbers is not the only method to ensure fairness in elections regarding the management and verification of early voting ballot issuance, and other institutional measures exist, so it cannot be said to distort the exercise of the people's sovereignty or infringe on voting rights."

Regarding the issuance of early voting ballots with QR codes, the Court pointed out that "this is merely a simple administrative act and a factual act of election management as a collective action, and cannot be considered an exercise of public authority subject to constitutional complaint, thus it cannot be the subject of a constitutional complaint."

On the act of replacing the seal imprint with a printed seal, the Court also ruled, "To facilitate the smooth progress of early voting, methods other than the early voting manager directly stamping the ballot may be used," and "there is no circumstance to believe that the possibility of forged ballots entering is higher compared to directly stamping."

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