On the evening of the 13th, patriotic citizens are shouting slogans such as "Dissolve the Election Commission" and "Fraudulent Election, Nullify at the Source" in front of the Gwangju Election Commission. [@hj7777777gj X Account GIF]  

"Fraudulent Election, Re-election, Same-Day Voting, Manual Count."

This was the slogan that echoed day and night at the Seoul Olympic Park after the ballot shortage incident during the June 3 local elections. 

While politicians debated special prosecutors, parliamentary investigations, election appeals, evidence preservation, full re-elections, and partial re-votes, citizens offered the simplest and most direct solution.

They proposed holding a new election for the flawed one, conducting the voting on election day, and verifying the vote count by hand in front of the public.

The exact scale of damages from this incident has not yet been determined. 

The Election Commission has revised its own tally multiple times regarding polling stations that lacked ballots or received additional ones. It remains unconfirmed how long voting was suspended at which polling stations, how many voters left without voting, and ultimately, how many citizens were unable to exercise their right to vote.

The numbers released by the Election Commission, the very body responsible for managing the election, should not be immediately accepted as established facts. The entire process, from the printing and distribution of ballots to their additional delivery, voting suspensions, ballot box transport, and counting, must be re-examined through independent investigations.

However, uncovering the truth and restoring suffrage are separate matters. An investigation is a procedure to determine who committed what wrongdoing, while election litigation is a legal process to determine if irregularities affected the election outcome. Re-election is the only way to give voters, whose right to vote was obstructed, another opportunity to choose.

The slogan "Fraudulent Election" should not be interpreted solely as a declaration that a court has issued a final ruling.

If citizens were unable to vote normally due to the state's failure to prepare, voting was suspended, and the extent of the damage was not even properly assessed, then citizens have the right to call it an improper election.

The fact that suffrage was denied does not disappear just because politicians try to label this as a conspiracy theory.

A re-election should not repeat the same flawed procedures.

This incident stemmed from distrust surrounding the accuracy of early voting turnout predictions, the preparation of ballots for the main election, the distribution of ballots by region, and the effectiveness of the additional delivery system. Therefore, the re-election must be conducted in a way that maximally eliminates the causes of distrust.

First, voting should be consolidated into a single day. Same-day voting reduces procedures that are difficult for voters to directly verify, such as the long-term storage of early voting ballots, inter-regional transfers, and the postal delivery of absentee ballots.

Sufficient ballots should be prepared according to the number of registered voters at each polling station, and immediately after voting closes, the number of voters, remaining ballots, and ballots in the ballot box should be compared and recorded.

The vote counting should be conducted entirely manually from start to finish, rather than relying on ballot sorting machines. Each ballot should be sorted and counted one by one in the presence of candidates' observers, citizens, and the media, and all processes must be filmed, recorded, and made public.

Manual counting is not a foolproof system that automatically eliminates all errors. However, it is the most suitable method for restoring broken trust, as anyone can directly verify the ballots and disputed ballots can be re-examined on the spot.

There may be objections regarding the increased time and cost involved. However, in a democracy, there is no time or cost that should be prioritized over the integrity of elections. Ending the vote count a few hours faster only to have the public doubt the results for years is the most expensive choice.

The more complex politicians make the solutions, the further they can distance themselves from responsibility. While investigation committees are formed, legal outcomes are awaited, and promises of institutional improvements are made, the incident of suffrage deprivation can be pushed aside behind already-determined election results.

The truth investigation must proceed as an investigation, and those responsible must be punished accordingly. However, the legitimacy of the compromised election can only be restored by asking the public again.

"Fraudulent Election, Re-election, Same-Day Voting, Manual Count."

This slogan from Olympic Park is clearer than a hundred explanations from politicians. It is a demand to re-vote in a manner that everyone can observe and verify, rather than covering up suspicions and forcing trust. There is no simpler or more honest solution than this.