First Election with Semi-Fuel Efficiency System... 48.1cm Party Ballot Paper Longest Ever
Over 90% of Voters Intend to Participate in 4·15 General Election
Voters Complain "Too Confusing"
Election Commission: "Issues of Fairness Disputes... Will Improve Through Future System Enhancements"
On the morning of the 11th, the last day of early voting for the 21st National Assembly election, a voter is casting a precious vote at the Namsan 2-dong early voting station set up at the Daegu Jung-gu Election Commission. Photo by Yonhap News
[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Suwan] The 21st National Assembly general election, which newly introduced the semi-proportional representation system (Jun-yeonbi system), is just two days away. However, confusion among voters is increasing due to changes in the order of party lists on the proportional representation ballots. Many voters who participated in early voting on the 10th and 11th expressed surprise upon receiving the party ballot.
In particular, many found it confusing that the ballot started from number 3, sparking controversy. Some argue that there was insufficient prior notification at the polling stations, causing confusion.
Early voting for this general election recorded a historic high turnout of 26.69%. The National Election Commission announced that out of 43,994,247 registered voters, 11,742,677 participated in early voting, which started at 6 a.m. on the 10th and ended at 6 p.m. on the 11th.
Especially in the 21st general election, with the new introduction of the Jun-yeonbi system, expectations for proportional representation seats increased even among minor parties, resulting in a record number of 35 parties fielding proportional representation candidates.
As a result, the proportional representation ballot measures 48.1 cm in length. To minimize the ballot length, the vertical height of the marking boxes was reduced to 1 cm, and the space between boxes was narrowed to 0.2 cm.
On the afternoon of the 31st of last month, the proportional representation ballots for the April 15 general election printed at a printing shop in Dalseo-gu, Daegu, measured 48.1 cm in length. Photo by Yonhap News
The problem lies in the lack of sufficient prior explanation about the voting process. Some voters expressed negative reactions such as, "There are already so many parties, and starting from number 3 instead of 1 or 2 is very confusing," and "I didn't even know there was a number 3."
A 29-year-old office worker A, who participated in early voting on the 11th, said, "People around me asked if I knew the party ballot started from number 3, so I found out," adding, "I didn't even know it started from number 3." He continued, "I also heard this ballot is the longest ever. I'm worried I might have marked it incorrectly."
Voter B, in their 50s, said, "When I received the ballot, it started from number 3, which was very confusing. I'm glad I checked; otherwise, I don't know what would have happened," raising their voice, "Many people memorize only the numbers, so I think this is a problem."
Because the party names on the proportional representation ballot start from number 3, confusion is occurring at polling stations. Both the Democratic Party of Korea, which is number 1, and the United Future Party, number 2, did not field their own proportional representation candidates as they promoted satellite parties for proportional representation.
On the afternoon of the 9th, an official from the National Election Commission was creating spaced queue guide lines in front of the Namyeong-dong early voting station set up at Seoul Station to practice 'social distancing.' Photo by Yonhap News
Meanwhile, following early voting, more than 9 out of 10 voters expressed their intention to participate in the main vote, raising expectations of confusion on election day, June 15.
According to a survey commissioned by the National Election Commission to Gallup Korea on the 12th, conducted from June 5 to 6 with 1,500 voters nationwide aged 18 and over (95% confidence level, ±2.5% margin of error), 94.1% of respondents said they would vote in this election.
Among those intending to vote (1,411 respondents), 62.3% said they would participate in the main vote on the 15th.
Some argue that prior notification about this is necessary. Citizen C, who participated in early voting, said, "This important matter was not properly communicated in advance," and added, "Polling stations should inform voters that the party ballot starts from number 3."
Regarding this, an official from a community center in Seoul explained, "There are many tasks, including election guidance and COVID-19 prevention measures such as temperature checks, distribution of hand sanitizers, and disposable gloves, so we are short-staffed," and added, "There was no specific instruction to inform voters about this election matter."
An official from the National Election Commission told Asia Economy, "Starting the proportional representation ballot from number 3 is mandated by law," and "This is not a newly introduced system for this election. Providing guidance to voters on this matter raises issues of fairness and controversy." He added, "There have been many media reports about the ballot, so referring to those is a good way," and "We plan to improve the system in future elections to address the inconveniences voters have experienced."
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