-NHRCK, recommended the National Election Commission to provide customized voting and confirmation methods for persons with disabilities-
o The NHRCK (Chairperson, Hyun Byung-chul), in order to prevent possible infringements of equal rights of persons with disabilities in exercising political rights during the voting process of the 6th local elections slated to be held on 4, June, made the following recommendations to the Chairperson of the National Election Commission(NEC) on 16, May, 2014.
1. Provide customized balloting method for persons with disabilities, enabling them to vote for themselves.
2. Improve the size of polling booth in order to allow assistants to help electors in voting, and devise and implement clear rules on detailed ways to assist voting.
3. Devise measures for the visually impaired to confirm their voting.
o The Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, which Korea acceded to and ratified in 2008, sets out that in order for persons with disabilities to enjoy equal political rights and opportunities, the voting procedures, facilities and materials have to be appropriate, accessible and easy to understand and use. In addition, the rights of persons with disabilities to vote by secret ballot in elections and pubic referendums without intimidation and the use of assistive and new technologies where appropriate have to be guaranteed.
o Under the Public Official Election Act, making a mark on a ballot paper with a certain marking tool, and making the mark ‘O’ on a ballot paper in absentee voting are recognized as legitimate. In addition, to the visually impaired, a special ballot paper and assistive tools are provided in pursuant to the Rules on the Management of Public Official Elections.
-However, except the one for the visually impaired, voting methods which consider types of disabilities are not in place, which is why persons with disabilities who cannot vote for themselves need to receive assistance.
-This goes against the major principle of voting, secret ballot, which is why a voting method that allows persons with disabilities to vote for themselves without getting a help, just like persons with other types of impairments, is needed.
o Under Article 157.6 of the Public Official Election Act, a person unable to vote for himself due to a visual or physical impairment may be accompanied by his family or two persons nominated by him to assist in his voting.
-Comprehensive analysis of provisions regarding the voting methods shows that a person with disabilities who needs help has to go inside the polling booth with an assistant to cast a vote. However, during the upcoming June elections, it will be difficult for persons with disabilities on wheelchair to go inside the booth together with the assistant because the width of the booth, except for the table, is only 75cm-wide.
-In order to provide assistance to persons with disabilities in need, the size of the existing polling booth has to change so that voting assistants can go inside the booth to provide help. In addition, clear and unified rules on voting assistance need to be applied to every voting station.
o Moreover, confirming who you cast a vote for is an essential process of voting, which is limited to persons with visual impairment, prohibiting them to confirm whether they casted a vote for the candidate they want.
- The NEC needs to bear the responsibility to devise and implement ways to ensure that persons with visual impairment can confirm their voting, because unlike persons with other types of disabilities, who can confirm for themselves their voting with the help of assistant, the visually impaired cannot do so.
o The NHRCK has made aforementioned recommendations to the Chairperson of the NEC in order to ensure that persons with disabilities fully exercise their rights at the 6thlocal elections scheduled in early next month.
