Can Voters Claim Compensation for Inability to Vote? Past Rulings Grant Up to $200,000

The recent local elections on June 3, 2026, faced an unprecedented shortage of ballots, leading to speculation that voters who were unable to cast their votes may seek compensation from the government.

According to the Central Election Commission, out of 14,288 polling places nationwide, 67 experienced a shortage of ballots on election day.

In Seoul, 35 polling places were affected, along with 8 in Busan, 7 in Daegu, 6 in Incheon, 3 in Ulsan, and 8 in Gyeongnam, with Songpa District having the highest number at 15.

Of these, 50 polling places were confirmed to have run out of ballots, while 22 temporarily halted voting due to the shortage before resuming.

In past similar cases, voters whose voting rights were infringed due to government negligence received compensation ranging from 300,000 to 2 million won (approximately $230 to $1,540).

In a 2015 ruling, the Daejeon District Court ordered the government to pay 2 million won to a woman who was unable to participate in an education superintendent election due to an error in the criminal record list, which incorrectly listed her as having violated the Public Election Act.

The court stated, "The staff responsible for maintaining the criminal record list had a duty to accurately input the status of the cases into the system."

It also noted that the staff's negligence in handling the records led to the wrongful classification of the plaintiff, which resulted in the infringement of her voting rights.

Under the Public Election Act, individuals who are currently serving a suspended sentence or have been sentenced to imprisonment for election-related offenses within the past ten years are ineligible to vote.

Last year, the Busan High Court ruled that voters with developmental disabilities who were denied assistance during the voting process in the 20th presidential election should each receive 1 million won in compensation.

The court found that election workers had improperly denied requests for assistance and acted arbitrarily against the established voting assistance guidelines, warranting compensation.

Legal experts suggest that claims for compensation due to the ballot shortage could also be viable, as government employees may have acted unlawfully, causing personal harm. Voters who waited several hours to vote could argue for compensation for their time lost.

In cases of voting rights infringement, it is anticipated that the compensation claims could be higher due to the violation of fundamental rights.

However, some analysts caution that the actual compensation may not be substantial compared to the time and costs involved in pursuing legal action.

Additionally, it has come to light that public employees working as election staff reported concerns about ballot shortages to the Central Election Commission several hours before voting ended.

The Seoul Regional Headquarters of the National Public Employees Union shared excerpts from a KakaoTalk group chat involving about 150 public employees and Election Commission staff who worked at the second polling place in Jamsil 7-dong, where the ballot shortage occurred.

The chat included messages such as, "The polling place clerks are asking if we will run out of ballots, but we can only respond that the Election Commission is monitoring the situation without giving a definitive answer," and "We are requesting police support; can we call them? The situation on-site is very serious."

Messages also indicated that only 35 ballots remained and urged for quick action to prevent voting from being halted, stating, "We need to take measures to allow voters to cast their votes even after 6 PM."

The public employees' union criticized that the chaos and citizen complaints were unfairly placed on the local public employees who were supporting the election, rather than the Election Commission.

It is reported that the public employees on duty that day were responsible for various tasks, including sorting, packaging, and transporting election materials, in addition to their election duties.