The controversy surrounding allegations of election fraud is showing a trend of spreading beyond online and political arenas into the realm of local politics.

The controversy surrounding allegations of election fraud is showing a trend of spreading beyond online and political arenas into the realm of local politics. 

Following the recent adoption of resolutions by the Changwon and Gimhae City Councils demanding improvements to the vote counting method for early voting, statements addressing related issues have also emerged in the Incheon City Council, indicating that the debate over election integrity is extending to local councils.

A recent public opinion poll indicated that a majority of respondents believe government-level fact-checking is necessary regarding allegations of election fraud. 

According to a survey conducted by Cheonji Ilbo, 52.8% of respondents said it is necessary to form a government task force to verify allegations of election fraud. Those who deemed it unnecessary accounted for 41.2%.

By region, the highest proportion of respondents who considered it necessary was in Daegu-Gyeongbuk at 62.0%, followed by Busan-Ulsan-Gyeongnam at 57.7%, Chungcheong-Gangwon at 56.1%, and Gyeonggi-Incheon at 52.2%. Conversely, in Honam-Jeju, those who found it unnecessary (46.3%) outnumbered those who found it necessary (39.4%). In Seoul, the results were relatively close, with 49.9% finding it necessary and 44.2% finding it unnecessary.

By ideological inclination, the conservative group showed the highest rate of necessity at 74.6%. The moderate group showed similar levels, with 47.9% finding it necessary and 43.5% finding it unnecessary. Among the progressive group, those who found it unnecessary (62.0%) outnumbered those who found it necessary (30.8%).

Particularly noteworthy are the results based on party support. Among supporters of the People Power Party, 90.8% responded that it is necessary to verify allegations of election fraud, recording the highest percentage.

Support for necessity was also dominant among supporters of other parties (70.4%), independent voters (56.8%), and supporters of the New Reform Party (50.1%). 

On the other hand, among supporters of the Democratic Party, those who found it unnecessary (61.7%) outnumbered those who found it necessary (28.0%). Similarly, among supporters of the Cho Kuk Innovation Party, those who found it unnecessary accounted for 73.9%.

Some in the political sphere interpret these results as a reflection of the gap between the perceptions of supporters and party politics. 

This is because, despite over 90% of People Power Party supporters calling for fact-checking, there has been no clear movement for institutional verification or official resolutions at the party level. Instead, the issue is being raised first by some local councils.

In fact, the Changwon and Gimhae City Councils recently adopted resolutions urging consideration of introducing manual counting verification procedures into the early voting count process. 

This calls for institutional improvements to enhance the reliability of early voting management procedures and the vote counting process.

Similar issues have been raised in the Incheon City Council. Hur Shik, an Incheon City Council member, stated in a 5-minute free speech at a plenary session that there is a need to examine the transparency of early voting management procedures and the vote counting process. 

However, in Incheon, unlike Changwon and Gimhae, an official resolution in the name of the council has not yet been adopted, and at present, it remains at the level of individual council members' statements.

The spread of election debates in online spaces is also believed to be a background factor for this trend. 

The "End the Fraudulent Election Debate" held last month, which included Reform Party leader Lee Jun-seok, lecturer Jeon Han-gil, lawyer Park Joo-hyun, and PD Lee Young-don, lasted for about 7 hours, with over 300,000 concurrent viewers and exceeding 6 million cumulative views. 

This garnered unprecedented attention for a political debate content and is credited with significantly expanding the election system debate in the online space.

Political circles anticipate that this trend could re-ignite debates surrounding election integrity ahead of the 9th National Simultaneous Local Elections scheduled for June 3, 2026. 

If similar resolutions or issues are raised in local councils, there is a possibility that election system debates could expand beyond central politics to become an agenda for local politics nationwide.

Meanwhile, this public opinion poll was conducted using the RDD (Random Digit Dialing) method via mobile phones, with a response rate of **3.7%**. The margin of error is ±3.1 percentage points at a 95% confidence level. Detailed information can be found on the website of the National Election Survey Deliberation Commission.