Pre-marked Ballot Found at South Korean Polling Station Sparks Protest

An incident at a polling station in Daegu, South Korea, caused a stir on the first day of early voting for the 9th National Simultaneous Local Elections. A male voter discovered a pre-marked ballot inside a booth at the Gosan 2-dong Administrative Welfare Center in Suseong-gu on May 29.

The voter immediately protested to the election officials. According to the election management officials at the scene, they believed the ballot was accidentally left behind by a previous voter who had marked it and then failed to cast it into the ballot box. The officials stated that the discovered ballot would be treated as invalid.

Early voting for the local elections is taking place on May 29 and 30, from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. Unlike the main election day, early voting allows citizens to cast their ballots at any of the 3,571 designated polling stations nationwide, regardless of their registered address.

The number of ballots voters receive varies by region. Most voters will receive seven ballots. However, residents in 14 electoral districts, including Busan's North Gap where a by-election for the National Assembly is being held, will receive an additional ballot, totaling eight. Voters in Sejong City and Jeju City, which do not have local councils, will receive four ballots, while those in Seogwipo City, Jeju, will receive five.