“Why give me one extra ballot?”, The reason a voter in Jeju misunderstood

A polling station in Jeju became the scene of a minor disturbance on June 3 when a voter in his 60s caused a commotion, insisting he had received an extra ballot paper. The incident occurred at a polling station in Daeryun-dong, Seogwipo City, during the local elections.

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Why was there an extra ballot paper?

The voter, identified as Mr. K, was reportedly given six ballots instead of the standard five required for the elections in the Daeryun-dong area. Voters in this district were eligible to cast ballots for five positions: Jeju governor, Jeju superintendent of education, Jeju provincial assembly member, Jeju provincial assembly proportional representative, and a National Assembly by-election.

Election officials investigated the matter and discovered that the extra ballot was one that had been inadvertently left behind, unstamped, by a previous voter inside the voting booth. Mr. K, however, continued to protest even after this explanation. The situation was resolved before police arrived at the scene, as Mr. K proceeded to cast his votes.

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The extra ballot was one that had been inadvertently left behind, unstamped, by a previous voter inside the voting booth.

According to an official from the Seogwipo City Election Commission, the extra ballot left in the booth would be treated as a 'public ballot.' This means it would be placed in the ballot box but later classified as invalid during the vote count. Officials noted that they instruct poll workers to periodically check inside voting booths due to voters sometimes leaving ballots behind.

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The ballot left in the booth would be treated as a 'public ballot.' This means it would be placed in the ballot box but later classified as invalid during the vote count.