At least 14 cases nationwide including Seoul and Busan
The National Election Commission “handles valid votes without knowing the voters”
盧, not answering questions without mentioning ‘where you live’
It was additionally confirmed on the 8th that an envelope containing already marked ballot papers was delivered to the voters during the preliminary voting for confirmed and quarantined persons with the novel coronavirus infection (COVID-19) held in Suwon-si, Gyeonggi-do on the 5th. If you include the cases that have been revealed in Seoul, Busan, and Daegu so far, at least 14 similar incidents have occurred. Noh Jeong-hee, chairman of the National Election Commission (pictured), bowed his head following three days of controversy, saying, “I feel responsible for the confusion and inconvenience caused by insufficient preparation.”
According to the Gyeonggi Election Commission, around 7 pm on the 5th, at an elementary school in Maetan 1-dong, Suwon-si, an envelope containing ballot papers marked for a specific candidate was delivered to two voters who participated in the preliminary voting for confirmed and quarantined persons. According to the regulations, confirmed and quarantined persons must receive a ballot paper and an envelope from the temporary voting booth following identification, mark the ballot at the temporary voting booth, and put it in an empty envelope before handing it over. However, the envelope of the temporary voting booth was not empty.
When the voters informed the news, the polling station explained that “they had delivered the wrong envelope containing the ballot papers,” and then retrieved the ballots from the envelope and allowed the remaining votes to proceed. At that time, there were voting officers, voting clerks, and observers at the site. An official from the Gyeonggi National Election Commission explained, “It was determined that the voting clerk mistakenly thought that the completed ballot was placed in the ballot box and handed out envelopes containing the ballot to two voters.”
Article 167 of the Public Official Election Act stipulates that ‘an elector may not disclose the ballot he/she has cast, and the published ballot is invalid’. Regarding this, an official from the Gyeonggi Election Commission said, “They cannot disclose the ballots they voted for.
Meanwhile, Chairman Roh apologized for the confusion surrounding early voting for confirmed and quarantined persons through a public discourse announced by the Central Election Commission in Gwacheon, Gyeonggi Province on the followingnoon of the same day. Chairman Roh said, “I would like to thank the voters who participated in the voting despite the difficult situation due to the COVID-19 confirmation, and I apologize once more to the voters who suffered inconvenience and confusion and to those who suffered in the field.”
However, he did not mention any issues related to whereregardings raised in the political arena. Even though there was an objection to the voting clerk’s ‘proxy input’ of the ballot papers for confirmed and quarantined persons within the Election Commission, reporters asked questions regarding the reason for ignoring them, but they did not answer them.
Suwon = Reporter Lee Kyung-jin lkj@donga.com
Reporter Kang Kyung-seok coolup@donga.com
