Election commission faces scrutiny over voting mishaps

A string of irregularities during early voting in the 21st presidential election has renewed concerns about the National Election Commission’s handling of the process. After an incident involving the removal of ballot papers, another controversy emerged when an election assistant was caught casting a proxy vote for her husband. In separate cases, ballot papers from last year’s general election were found at polling stations, further fueling criticism of the commission’s management.

According to the NEC, outdated ballot papers from the 22nd general elections were discovered on Friday morning in Gimpo and Bucheon, both in Gyeonggi Province. The paper found in Gimpo bore the official seal for the city’s National Assembly election. The one in Bucheon was confirmed to be from the Bucheon-gap constituency. An NEC official acknowledged the error, saying, “It seems unused ballot papers remained in boxes from the last general election, which were reused this year,” adding, “Management during the previous election was lacking.”

On Thursday, a poll worker in Daechi-dong, Gangnam District, Seoul, attempted to cast two votes. The woman, tasked with checking voters’ IDs, voted once using her husband’s ID, then attempted to vote again using her own before being stopped.

In another case in Yongin, Gyeonggi Province, police are investigating a report of a completed ballot found inside a return envelope. According to the Gyeonggi Nambu Provincial Police Agency, a voter at an early voting site claimed the envelope they received already contained a marked ballot in favor of Democratic Party candidate Lee Jae-myung. The NEC has suggested the report may have been fabricated and has requested a formal investigation.