Bill to partially amend the Public Official Election Act
(Sponsored by Rep. Park Dae-chul)
Date: 2021.3.17
Sponsors: Park Dae-chul, Kwon Myung-ho, Kim Ki-hyun, Ahn Byung-gil, Park Sung-min, Kang Dae-sik, Lee Chul-kyu, Kim Seung-soo, Lee Man-hee, Paik Jong-hun, Shin Won-sik, Kim Eun-hye, Bae Hyun-jin, Chung Jin-seok
Reason for the proposal
In our country, votes are counted using ballot sorting machines after ballot boxes are moved to counting stations following the end of the voting session. However, the possibility of ballot sorting machine – errors continues to be raised with every election.
Moreover, there is a lack of regulations that guarantee the safety and credibility of early voting management, including no legal ground to check how ballot boxes are stored after the early voting period. This situation must be fixed.
The purpose is to introduce content to the effect that manual counting should be a method of counting in principle and to strengthen the management of voting and counting in public elections, including ways to improve measures and procedures taken during early voting.
Main content
A. Inclusion of a serial number printed on an early voting ballot paper in a bar code shape on both detached and undetached part of the paper and to provide each voter with part of ballot paper by tearing off detaching portion of the serial number when using the ballot paper printing machine (Article 151, Section 7 and Article 158, Section 3).
B. Recording video images of the storing and transporting processes of the mail-in ballot boxes and early voting ballot boxes and allow election management officials and observers to check recorded videos at any time while they are being filmed (Article 176, Section 3, Section 5, and Section 6).
C. Use of manual counting as a method of counting in principle and allowing other mechanical and electronic equipment to be used for supplementary purposes (Article 178, Section 1 and Section 2).
D. A ban on reporting vote counts per candidate before the counting results are officially announced, and punishing those who report such results in advance by imprisonment of no more than 3 years or by a fine not exceeding 6 million won (Article 178, Section 4, Article 256, Section 1(6)).
E. Punishing people who interrupt observers who monitor the voting or counting process, such as early voting observers, voting observers, and counting observers without reasonable reasons by imprisonment of no more than 3 years (Article 242, Section 1(2)).
Public Official Election Act Partial Amendment Bill
To amend parts of the Public Official Election Act as follows.
Renumber Article 151, Section 6 through Section 9, as Section 7 through Section 10, insert Section 6 in the same article as follows, replace “be marked” in Section 7 (previously Section 6) with “be marked separately on both detached and undetached in accordance with Article 158, Section 3,” and replace “Section 6” in Section 8 (previously Section 7) of the same article with “Section 7.”
(6) When the Gu/Si/Gun election commission delivers ballot papers that it prints and the Eup/Myeon/Dong election commission keep them after sealing them and then turn over the sealed ballot papers in accordance with Article 5, necessary measures need to be taken to prevent ballot papers from being misprinted or being leaked or stolen. In this case, the Gu/Si/Gun election commission and Eup/Myeon/Dong election commission can request cooperation including providing security assistance, to the chief of a police station in charge to prevent leaked or stolen ballot papers, and the chief of a police station who received such a request should follow it if there is no special reason not to do so.
Replace “without cutting off the serial number” in Article 158, Section 3, with “by cutting off the serial number on the detached portion,” renumber Section 6 through 8 of the article as Section 7 through 9, insert Section 6 as follows in the article, add paragraph 1 of Section 7 (previously Section 6) at the end as follows, and change paragraph 2 of the section as follows.
(6) The official in charge of early voting management shall close the entrance of the early voting station when it is time to close it during the early voting period, and shall proceed with following procedures under the supervision of the early voting observer. If an early voting observer refuses to observe the process without providing a reasonable reason, this would be interpreted as the individual surrendering its right to do so, and this should be recorded in the election minute.
1. When an eligible voter is provided with a ballot paper, along with an envelope for return, pursuant to Section 3 and Section 4, slots of the early voting ballot box shall be sealed and closed, and the leftover ballot papers and the detached portion of the ballot paper with the serial number on it shall be sealed separately.
2. When an individual votes without being provided with an envelope for return in accordance with Section 5, the slots of the early voting ballot box and the locks thereof shall be closed and sealed, and the key for the ballot box, leftover ballot papers, and the detached serial number portion of ballot papers shall be sealed separately.
In such cases, leftover ballot papers and the detached portion of the ballot paper with the serial number on it shall be returned together, and this return process can be accompanied by one voting observer for each candidate and up to two police officers in uniform required for the escort.
In such a case, the return process of keys for early voting ballot boxes, leftover ballot papers, and detached portion of ballot paper with the serial number on it shall apply the protocol described under paragraph 1.
Regarding Article 176, Section 2, replace “Article 158, Section 6(2)” with “Article 158, Section 7(2),” replace “Section 3” of the article with “Section 4,” insert Section 3 in the same article as follows, replace “the ballot boxes delivered by mail as referred to in paragraph (1) and the early voting ballot boxes as referred to in paragraph (2)” with “the mail-in ballot boxes and the early voting ballot boxes,” and insert Section 5 and Section 6 in the article as follows.
(3) Gu/Si/Gun election commission shall take videos, in accordance with Article 2 of the Personal Information Protection Act, of mail-in ballot boxes as referred to in paragraph (1) and the early voting ballot boxes as referred to in paragraph (2) from the period where they are stored and then moved to counting stations.
(5) The Gu/Si/Gun election commission shall take videos of the process where mail-in ballot boxes and early voting ballot boxes are transferred to counting stations pursuant to Section 4.
(6) Early voting management officials and counting officials or early voting observers and counting observers can check the videos anytime while they are taken, as referred to in Section 3 and Section 5.
Change Article 178, Section 1, to as follows, replace “may use” in Section 2 of the article with “may use as supplementary purpose,” and delete a clause in Section 4 in the article.
(1) In principle, the ballot counting shall proceed by manually calculating votes.
Replace “the ballot papers” with “the ballot papers (including image files of ballot papers).”
Renumber Article 242, Section 1(2), as Article 242, Section 1 (3), and insert paragraph 2 in the section as follows.
2. A person who interrupts without reasonable reasons observers who monitor the voting or counting process, such as early voting observers, voting observers, and counting observers.
Insert paragraph 6 in Article 256, Section 1 as follows.
6. A person who reports the number of votes before it is officially announced, in violation of Article 178, Section 4.
Renumber Article 278, Section 6, as Article 278, Section 7, insert Section 6 in the article as follows and replace “programs for operating the computer systems” in Section 7 (previously Section 6) with “programs for operating the computer systems and others.”
(6) If the National Election Commission uses a mechanical device, electronic system, programs for operating the computer systems and others to computerize the election management process, including that of voting and counting, it shall receive security and safety certification from an independent professional institution or experts, as prescribed by the National Election Commission Regulations.
Addenda
Article 1 (Enforcement Date)
This Act shall enter into force six months after its promulgation.
Article 2 (Example of Application)
The amended clauses will be applied starting from the election that the date for the preparation of the integrated voter list is due after its promulgation.
