"We Will Block Election Fraud Conspiracy Theories"... Election Commission Switches to Transparent Ballot Boxes for Early Voting

From White to Transparent: Now Voters Can See Inside
Election Commission: "Preventing Ballot Box Swapping Suspicions in Advance"

Early voting ballot box stand in the jurisdiction. National Election Commission

The National Election Commission has decided to switch to transparent ballot box stands for early voting in the upcoming June 3 local elections. This measure was taken to allow voters to see the internal structure and address persistent conspiracy theories regarding election fraud, such as ballot box swapping.

According to the National Election Commission on March 5, the bases of the ballot boxes used for early voting within the jurisdiction, which are in the form of cloth pouches called satchels, will be replaced with transparent materials so that voters can see the satchel-type ballot boxes.

Previously, the ballot boxes were placed on top of white plastic bases, making the satchels invisible. Once voting ended, only the internal satchels were separated and transported from the polling stations to the counting centers. Some election fraud theorists raised suspicions of swapping during this process.

The commission will also change the color of the satchels from dark navy to gray. This is the first adjustment to the structure of the satchel-type ballot boxes since their introduction in 2014, 12 years ago. A commission official explained, "This measure is intended to preemptively prevent suspicions of election fraud or ballot box swapping."

The number of election monitoring personnel will also be increased. The size of the "Fair Election Observers Group," which was first introduced in last year's presidential election, will be expanded from 38 to 104 members. This group will include representatives from political parties, civic organizations, and academia, and eight members will be assigned to each of the 13 regions nationwide. They will observe the entire election process on site, including ballot delivery and voting and counting, for about one month starting in May.

Meanwhile, after early voting ends, the mouth of the satchel is sealed and separated from the stand before being transported to the local election commission. It is then stored at a location within the commission's building equipped with closed-circuit (CC) TV until election day. Once voting ends on election day, the stored early voting satchels are taken to the counting center, where the seal is checked, the satchels are opened, and the ballots are counted.

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