Authorities failed to anticipate voter turnout, leaving some precincts without enough ballots
Unprecedented voting suspensions hit Songpa-gu and Gangnam-gu
Voters who waited nearly two hours demanded answers
'Are ballots cast after 6 p.m. even going to be counted?'
"I've never seen voting itself get stopped — not once in my entire life."
A ballot shortage struck several polling stations in Seoul's Songpa-gu, Gangnam-gu and Dongjak-gu near the close of voting in the 9th nationwide local elections Wednesday, triggering what is expected to be significant political fallout. With too few ballots to distribute, voters were still unable to cast their votes past the official 6 p.m. closing time. Those who had endured sweltering heat and waited more than an hour demanded workable alternatives, raising their voices in anger. Some ultimately gave up and went home — a development expected to fuel fierce political controversy.
An unprecedented ballot shortage
At around 6 p.m. Wednesday, when official voting was supposed to have ended, more than 100 flushed and frustrated voters were still standing in line outside Jamil Elementary School in Jamsil 2-dong, Songpa-gu, the site of Polling Station No. 6. The queue had formed after voting was suspended due to a shortage of ballots.
Voting had been halted from around 4:30 p.m., and worn-out voters made no effort to hide their frustration. Choi Jeong-geun, 72, who was at the polling station, said the situation was absurd. "I've been here for two hours, and they say they only prepared ballots for 50 percent of registered voters," he said. "I've lived through a lot — even under Chun Doo-hwan, nothing like this ever happened. I've never seen voting itself get stopped — not once in my entire life."
Yun, 27, said the scene was appalling. "Elections are supposed to be the flower of democracy — seeing this happen is just heartbreaking," he said. "Now I can't help but wonder whether past elections were always like this."
Choi, 63, said residents were worried about whether ballots cast after 6 p.m. would even reach the counting center. "I came with my family, and after waiting an hour and 40 minutes, they all left. My wife, who isn't well, ultimately had to go home — our right to vote was stolen from us," he said, raising his voice.
Poll workers scrambled to issue numbered waiting tickets marked "voter arrived at closing time" to keep track of those still in line, and brought in provisional ballots, but the unrest among voters did not subside. Angry reactions poured out at the scene: "We can't just vote without knowing whether ballots cast after 6 p.m. will be counted," and "Isn't an election conducted after 6 p.m. a fraudulent one?"
The shortage was not confined to Polling Station No. 6 in Jamsil 2-dong. Similar problems were reported Wednesday at Polling Station No. 2 in Munjeong 2-dong, Polling Station No. 2 in Jamsil 7-dong, Polling Station No. 5 in Jamsil 4-dong, Polling Stations No. 3 and No. 7 in Garak 2-dong, Polling Station No. 4 in Cheongdam-dong, and Polling Station No. 6 in Guui 3-dong, Gwangjin-gu.
At Polling Station No. 2 in Munjeong 2-dong, Songpa-gu, officials also ran out of ballots and began handing out waiting tickets to voters. Witnesses saw some voters transferring their tickets to others. Kim Seok-ju said he had just voted after another person gave him their ticket. "There are also many people who never received a ticket at all," he said.
When some voters who had not received tickets protested loudly, an election official told them to go ahead and vote anyway, even without a ticket.
Police were called to several locations to restore order as disputes broke out over the ballot shortage. The Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency said it had received 14 emergency calls related to ballot shortages as of 6 p.m. Wednesday.
The National Election Commission attributed the crisis to unexpectedly high turnout. "Voter turnout in the 9th local elections exceeded that of the previous election, which led to a shortage of prepared ballots at some polling stations in Songpa-gu," it said.
Opposition figures responded immediately. The camp of Seoul mayoral candidate Oh Se-hoon issued a stern warning to the election commission, saying violations of the right to vote "cannot be tolerated under any circumstances." Assembly member Na Kyung-won said she had confirmed two polling stations in Dongjak-gu also faced ballot shortages, and called on authorities to guarantee the right to vote for all citizens who were in line by 6 p.m.
Last-minute rush before polls close
Even as the chaos unfolded at some stations, determined voters streamed to the polls in the final hour before the 6 p.m. deadline. Among them were university students racing to finish assignments, office workers stopping by after work, and voters with mobility difficulties who had timed their visit for a quieter hour.
Around 5 p.m. Wednesday, an hour before the close of voting, a crowd of late-arriving voters packed the polling station at Gwangmyeong Saemaul Credit Union in Gwangmyeong, Gyeonggi Province.
About 20 people at a time waited for the elevator to reach the polling floor. "We're going to run out of time at this rate," some muttered, while others impatiently asked why the elevator was taking so long.
Oh Seung-gi, 24, a university student who stepped off the packed elevator, said the timing had been a close call. "It's finals season, and my research note happened to be due Wednesday at 6 p.m.," he said. "I rushed to submit it and came straight here. I'm a bit disappointed about how the assignment turned out, but I'm a political science and diplomacy major — I'm just glad I made it in time to vote."
At the same polling station, Kim Da-som, 31, and her husband Park Sang-yeong, 36, both in hiking gear, said they had spent the morning climbing Gwanaksan. "We hurried down because we were worried we'd be late for voting," they said.
Some voters made it just in time despite physical hardship. Kim Hak-seon, 68, arrived at Polling Station No. 3 in Ilsan 2-dong, Goyang, Gyeonggi Province, leaning on a walking frame. "Even with a bad body, you have to vote," he said. "I walk much slower than other people, so I left home early to make sure I wouldn't be late."
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