Election Commission Lowers Minimum Printing Requirement for Ballots

The Central Election Commission (CEC) has come under scrutiny for lowering the minimum printing requirement for ballots from 60% to 50% without holding an official meeting. This decision was made internally by two officials on December 10, according to documents submitted by lawmakers Kim Seung-soo and Kim Min-jeon of the People Power Party.

Following this guideline, the Songpa District Election Commission set the printing ratio for ballots in 25 out of 26 districts, excluding Jamsil 3 and 4, at 50%.

Despite the ballot shortage, Songpa District recorded a voter turnout of 65.8%, surpassing the Seoul average of 63.6% by 2.2 percentage points, ranking fourth among the 25 districts in Seoul.

The CEC noted that the minimum printing threshold for ballots has been gradually reduced from 80% in 2009 to 70% in 2016, and then to 60% in 2021. This change was attributed to increasing early voting rates, challenges in securing printing facilities due to tight timelines, difficulties in verifying and storing ballots, and concerns over the loss of leftover ballots.

In response to the recent ballot shortage, the CEC acknowledged that the lack of a serial number system for ballots, additional distribution criteria, and distribution procedures hindered their ability to respond swiftly. They explained that a small team of six to thirteen personnel was responsible for managing voting, processing mail-in ballots, and overseeing counting, which delayed communication about the situation.