EARLY VOTING FOR LOCAL ELECTIONS BEGIN

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Early voting for the 8th local elections on June 1st started today. Regardless of where you live, a qualified voter 18 or older can cast a ballot at any voting station in the country. The last opinion poll for 17 mayoral and gubernatorial elections by the three major networks showed the governing People Power Party winning in nine cities and provinces and the Democratic Party in four. The two parties were competing within the margin of error in the remaining four localities.

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Early voting started at 6:00 a.m. Friday local time. Voting went smoothly at 3,551 voting stations across the country. Voters only have to show their photo IDs without pre-registration to cast their ballots. Early voting takes place Friday and Saturday, from 6:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. However, individuals infected with COVID-19 cannot vote on Friday. They are allowed to exercise their voting rights on Saturday, between 6:30 and 8:00 p.m. The National Election Commission asked voters to wear a mask, sanitize their hands at the voting sites, and refrain from making unnecessary conversations or contacts. A voter will be provided with seven ballots, which includes those for mayor, governor and superintendent of education. Eight ballots will be provided in areas where by-elections for vacant National Assembly seats are held simultaneously. The early voting system was first adopted for the 2014 local elections. At the time, the early voting turnout stood at a mere 11.5%, but the figure rose to 36.9% in the 20th presidential election held in March. All candidates are working hard to boost the turnout. This includes using social media sites to encourage voters to participate in the early voting. Meanwhile, the three major networks’ last joint opinion poll on 17 mayoral and governorship elections showed the ruling People Power Party was leading in nine locations, including Seoul, southeastern cities, Gangwon-do Province and the Chungcheong-do area. The opposition Democratic Party was ahead in four places, including the southwestern region and Jeju. But the candidates running for the Gyeonggi-do governorship and the mayoral seats in Incheon, Sejong and Daejeon were neck-and-neck within the margin of error.