Election Commission Lacks Clear Plan Amid Repeated Ballot Shortages

Despite experiencing ballot shortages three times, the National Election Commission (NEC) has failed to establish clear countermeasures as of June 18, 2026. The same problem has recurred from the 2022 local elections to the recent June 3 local elections.

The NEC had used additional ballots at some polling stations in previous elections such as the 8th National Local Elections in 2022, the 22nd General Election in 2024, and the 21st Presidential Election in 2022. However, these instances did not lead to voter waiting times or suspensions of voting.

Unlike previous elections where the minimum printing threshold for ballots was 60% or 70%, the NEC, through the Secretary-General's executive decision, lowered this threshold to 50% prior to the latest election. Furthermore, it failed to prepare a response manual for ballot shortage situations and a crisis management system.

The NEC reported in the second meeting of the Democratic Party's 'National Participatory Rights Protection TF' on the 16th that there were no ballot shortage incidents in previous elections. This statement contradicts the data obtained by Democratic Party lawmaker Lim Mi-ae.