People Power Party Proposes Abolishing Early Voting... Emerging as Key Issue in National Investigation

Bill Proposes Abolishing Early Voting and Introducing Two-Day Main Voting

Push for Broader Electoral System Reform Beyond Election Commission Changes

The People Power Party has introduced a bill to abolish the early voting system and extend the main voting period to two days. With related issues also being raised in the Special Investigation Committee on the National Election Commission, the early voting system is expected to become a focal point in discussions on election commission reform.

According to the National Assembly's legislative information system on June 19, Assemblyman Park Dae-chul of the People Power Party sponsored a revision to the Public Official Election Act to abolish the early voting system and conduct the main voting over two days. The bill also includes a revival of the "absentee voting system," which would allow only voters who report in advance that they are unable to vote on election day to cast their ballots early.

The revision focuses not only on abolishing the early voting system, but also on simplifying the overall election management system. Believing that repeated controversies surrounding the storage and transportation of early ballot boxes have fueled distrust in elections, the bill seeks to revive the absentee voting system and introduce on-site vote counting at each polling station.

The bill was cosponsored by 25 lawmakers, mainly from the People Power Party. Not only key party members and moderates, but also independent lawmaker Han Donghoon joined as a cosponsor.

On the 18th, at the first plenary meeting of the "Special Investigation Committee on the National Simultaneous Local Elections Ballot Paper Shortage and Other Violations of the People's Right to Vote, and Election Management Reform" held at the National Assembly, Chairman Yoon Sanghyun is striking the gavel. 2026.6.18 Photo by Hyunmin Kim

Discussion over the early voting system was also raised in the special investigation committee on election commission reform, which was launched the previous day. Assemblywoman Park Sumin of the People Power Party stated, "Since the proportion of early voters accounts for about 35% of actual voters, we must examine whether the current system is manageable." Assemblyman Shin Dongwook, also of the People Power Party, argued that issues related to the management of early voting should be explicitly included within the scope of the investigation.

The Democratic Party maintains that the early voting system can be discussed, but believes the investigation should address election commission reform broadly, rather than focusing on a single institution. Assemblyman Yoon Kunyoung of the Democratic Party commented, "Whether or not a specific word is included is not very meaningful," adding, "Any matters related to election management work can be addressed without restriction."

Within political circles, some analysts suggest that the People Power Party is using the recent ballot paper shortage incident as an opportunity to expand the discussion beyond organizational reform of the election commission to a broader overhaul of the electoral system. It is expected that, as the special investigation committee proceeds, the current operation and management burden of the early voting system will emerge as major issues.

However, since the early voting system is already established as part of the electoral process and the proportion of early voters has exceeded 30% of actual voters in recent elections, there are views that the actual likelihood of the bill passing is low, particularly given that it would be difficult to pass without support from the ruling party due to the current parliamentary seat structure.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.