"Abolition of Early Voting, Implementation of Manual Counts"... People Power Party Proposes "National Suffrage Rights Protection Act" as Official Platform

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The People Power Party has submitted the so-called "National Suffrage Protection Act" as an official party platform, aiming to abolish early voting and revamp the electoral system to focus on the main election day. The party is also promoting a plan to conduct manual ballot counting at polling stations and to track and manage the entire process involving electoral materials such as ballots.

On September 21, Assembly members Park Daechul, Choi Hyungdoo, and Kim Mi-ae, who serve on the People Power Party's "Special Committee on Investigating Violations of the National Voting Rights on June 3 and Election Management Reform," submitted amendments to the Public Official Election Act and the National Election Commission Act to the National Assembly's Legislation Office. Following their unanimous adoption as the party platform during a general assembly of lawmakers on September 17, a total of 109 People Power Party legislators jointly sponsored the amendments.

Park Daechul, chairman of the People Power Party's Special Committee on Investigating Violations of the National Voting Rights on June 3 and Election Management Reform, is speaking at the third meeting of the special committee held at the National Assembly last month. Photo by Yonhap News

After submitting the bills, Assemblyman Park met with reporters and said, "We have included measures to address the problems in the electoral system that emerged after the June 3 local elections, as well as ways to ensure transparency and fairness in election administration and the voting and counting process."

The National Suffrage Protection Act encompasses a total of ten bills, including the full amendment of the National Election Commission Act, partial amendment of the Public Official Election Act, and proposed revisions to the Political Parties Act, National Referendum Act, and Political Funds Act.

The core of the Public Official Election Act amendment, sponsored by Assemblyman Choi, is the abolition of early voting and a shift to a system centered on the main election. The bill stipulates that ballots must be printed in quantities equal to or exceeding 100% of the projected number of voters. After voting concludes, polling stations are to be converted into counting stations so that ballots can be manually counted immediately onsite. A verifiable monitoring system would be established throughout the voting and counting process, and if the vote margin between candidates is less than or equal to 0.5%, an automatic recount would be triggered.

Assemblyman Choi said, "If ballots are counted at polling stations on election day, manual counting becomes feasible and the counting time can be shortened. We aim to enhance public trust in elections by referring to advanced overseas cases."

However, the bill does not include provisions to extend the main voting period from the current one day to two or more days. Assemblyman Park stated, "Whether the main election will be held for one, two, or even three days requires further discussion. For now, we have simply established the principle of centering the system on the main election day."

The full amendment to the National Election Commission Act, sponsored by Assemblywoman Kim, expands the current 20 articles to 81. The bill introduces the position of full-time chairperson for the Central and Provincial Election Commissions and abolishes the commissions at the municipality and district levels. Simultaneously, it prohibits sitting judges and court officials from concurrently serving as election commissioners.

The legislation also creates an independent statutory Audit Committee, with a majority of external experts. The Audit Committee will be granted the authority to demand disciplinary measures and file complaints, and its findings and actions will be reported to the National Assembly. It also includes organizational restructuring, such as eliminating the positions of Secretary-General and Deputy Secretary-General and establishing a new Chief Administrative Officer. Additional measures include the public disclosure of commission meetings and minutes, and establishing systems to track and manage every stage in the printing, storage, and transport of ballots and other electoral materials.

Assemblywoman Kim explained, "The goal is to guarantee the independence of the National Election Commission while strengthening its accountability, thereby ensuring transparent and fair election management. Given the public's distrust regarding the administration of electoral materials, the amendments stipulate that every step be tracked and managed."

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