“We Are Also Voters, Please Help Us Vote” ... Election D-1, Calls Continue to Guarantee Voting Rights for People with Developmental Disabilities

A press conference urging the guarantee of voting rights for people with developmental disabilities was held in front of the main building of Gyeongnam Provincial Government on the 31st. Photo by Se-ryeong Lee ryeong@

[Asia Economy Yeongnam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Lee Seryeong] On the 31st, a day before the June 1 nationwide simultaneous local elections, the Changwon Center for the Rights of Persons with Disabilities held a press conference demanding the guarantee of voting rights for people with developmental disabilities.

According to the center, on the 27th, a person with developmental disabilities who visited the Jungang-dong Administrative Welfare Center in Changwon, Gyeongnam for early voting experienced a dispute lasting over an hour before being able to vote.

The counselor who accompanied the voter stated that although they explained the voter has a developmental disability and cannot read, thus requiring voting assistance, they were told that voting assistance can only be provided if there are physical difficulties such as hand tremors.

They also reported that during a phone call with an employee of the Seongsan-gu Election Commission, they were told that voting assistance cannot be provided solely on the basis of having a developmental disability.

He explained, “I repeatedly explained that giving multiple ballots at once could cause confusion and that since the voter cannot read, it would be difficult to mark the ballot for the person they want to choose, but they said it was not allowed according to election office guidelines. When I asked if an election official could enter the voting booth if there were concerns about fraudulent voting, they said having three people in the booth itself is not normal.”

“The election official said that if all eight observers present at the polling station agree, voting assistance can be provided, but when I asked if it would be difficult to get everyone’s consent, they said then voting assistance cannot be provided,” he added.

He also complained, “After protesting for over an hour at the early voting station, a Gyeongnam Election Commission staff member said there seemed to be communication issues and that voting assistance could be received and used. How should we understand this situation where Seongsan-gu Election Commission says no, but Gyeongnam Election Commission says yes?”

The center claimed that the Central Election Commission deleted the voting assistance guidelines for people with developmental disabilities without any notice in the election office guidelines for the 21st general election implemented in April 2020.

They applied for emergency relief of voting rights for people with developmental disabilities to the court on November 29, 2021, and through court-enforced mediation in February this year, an order was issued to resume voting assistance for people with developmental disabilities starting from the March 9 presidential election, but they reported that proper voting assistance was still not provided during the presidential election.

Yoon Chang-won, President of the Gyeongnam Disabled Independent Living Center Federation, is speaking. / Photo by Se-ryeong Lee ryeong@

Yoon Changwon, president of the Gyeongnam Center for Independent Living of Persons with Disabilities Federation, said, “People with developmental disabilities who cannot read only need the voting assistant to read the text on the ballot, not to tell them where to vote, so fraudulent voting cannot occur,” and added, “I hope the day comes when the voting rights guaranteed by the constitution are also guaranteed to people with developmental disabilities.”

On that day, the group shouted slogans such as “People with developmental disabilities are also voters of the Republic of Korea” and “Guarantee voting rights,” urging ▲ revision of election office guidelines for voting assistance for people with developmental disabilities ▲ implementation of disability awareness education for election officials ▲ provision of easy-to-understand election materials ▲ production of ballots containing party logos and candidate photos.

After the press conference, they visited the Gyeongnam Election Commission to demand voting assistance for people with developmental disabilities on the upcoming June nationwide simultaneous local election voting day.

Director Cho Younghee said, “According to election law, there must be a reason for three people to enter, but not being able to read is not accepted as a reason,” and added, “When voting assistance was restricted during the local elections, I was told that if the voter’s situation is sufficiently explained, they would be allowed to enter the voting booth together.”

“Most people give up and leave when restricted, so I worry whether families or activity assistants can properly explain the situation to overcome this,” she added.

Director Cho emphasized, “Some people are scared to be alone in unfamiliar or dark places like children. The degree, situation, and characteristics of disabilities are all different, so it makes no sense that only hand tremors or visual impairments are included in the voting assistance guidelines as it is now.”

She also said, “We requested the installation of guidance signs so that people can request voting assistance if needed, but it seems difficult to reflect this immediately,” and added, “We will carefully observe what kind of situation unfolds during this election.”