In early voting, the number of ballots issued to voters by election officials at polling stations should normally match the number of ballots cast, as the election officials directly issue and hand over the ballots to the voters from the ballot issuance machine.

However, in the 2022 20th Presidential Election, there were a significant number of cases where the number of ballots cast was either more or less than the number issued, when examining the vote counting results for in-district early voting and out-of-district early voting. The phenomenon of missing ballots was particularly prominent in out-of-district early voting, with anywhere from 1-2 ballots to as many as 37 ballots missing. Of course, in the case of proportional representation for the National Election Commission, the number of ballots cast in in-district early voting was greater than the number of ballots issued.

The area with the most missing ballots was the out-of-district early voting at the Jongno-gu Election Commission in Seoul. While 13,129 ballots were issued, the number of voters was 13,092, which was 37 ballots fewer.

Examining the vote counting results for out-of-district early voting in Jongno-gu (top) and Gangseo-gu in the 2022 20th Presidential Election reveals that there were fewer ballots than indicated in the vote count summary sheets.

The number of ballots issued for out-of-district early voting at the Gangseo-gu Election Commission was 46,296, but the number of voters was 46,268, which was 28 ballots fewer. Other areas also experienced missing ballots: Hwaseong City in Gyeonggi Province had 28 missing, Namyangju City had 15, Gimhae City in Gyeongnam Province had 13, Gwangju City in Gyeonggi Province had 10, Jangan-gu in Suwon had 8, Suji-gu in Yongin City had 8, and Dongducheon City in Gyeonggi Province had 6 missing ballots each.

This phenomenon also occurred during the April 15th General Election in 2020. According to the vote count summary sheet for out-of-district early voting in Jongno-gu, 10,007 ballots were issued, but the number of ballots for the district election was 9,994, a difference of 13 ballots. Furthermore, for the proportional representation out-of-district early voting, the number of ballots cast was 10,007, but the number of ballots for the district election was 9,996, a difference of 11 ballots.

According to the vote count summary sheet for out-of-district early voting in Jongno-gu during the April 15th General Election in 2020 (top), 10,007 ballots were issued, but the number of ballots for the district election was 9,994, a difference of 13. For the proportional representation out-of-district early voting in Jongno-gu, the number of ballots cast was 10,007, but the number of ballots for the district election was 9,996, a difference of 11.

In response, the National Election Commission vaguely stated that it was "presumed that the voter took the ballot out of the polling station without placing it in the return envelope."

Is it conceivable that a voter, after receiving a ballot, would forget and not put it into the ballot box? Or could a voter pretend to place the ballot in the box and secretly take it out of the polling station? To prevent such occurrences, one election official meticulously guards the ballot box. How many people would be able to breach such surveillance and commit an illegal act?

If it's not due to voter error or intent, other causes can be considered. Out-of-district early voting involves several stages from casting the vote to counting it: △Transportation (transferring the return envelope to the Jongno-gu Election Commission via the post office) △Storage (sealed and stored in a place equipped with CCTV until election day) △Counting (transported to the counting station after the main voting closes, and counted using a return envelope opener) △Verification (checking the number of votes cast through ballot sorting and counting machines).

If you have been following this series, you would be aware of the various problems that have emerged during the ballot box transportation process and the storage process after sealing the ballot boxes. Furthermore, after delivery to the relevant commission, the reception process awaits.

Two election commission staff members handle the reception process. They compare the ballots with the voter registry to confirm the number of voters, reasons for invalid ballots, etc., and then bundle them in units of 50-100 per electoral district or ballot box. During this process, there are no observers or party-recommended committee members present. Everything is left to the conscience of the election commission staff. This is a juncture where conscience and trust meet, and only those two individuals know what transpires during this time.

Subsequently, in the ballot box opening section of the counting station, many general citizens are involved in addition to the counting staff. There is no guarantee that the ballots will be securely stored until they reach the "verification and tabulation department" of the counting station. How can this issue be resolved? It is necessary to pay close attention to the advice of lawyer Park Ju-hyun.

"Taiwan is the country that is best responding to election fraud issues. They have no early voting, absentee voting, or overseas voting, and only manual counting without electronic tabulation. It is most important for us to establish a similar system to prevent election distortion."

Reporter Im Yo-hee