Record Turnout Marks Opening Day of Early Voting for Local Elections
The first day of early voting for the 9th National Simultaneous Local Elections saw a significant turnout, with the national average reaching 10.39% by 5 PM on October 29th. This figure represents the highest participation rate at the same time point since early voting was first introduced for local elections in 2014.
According to data released by the National Election Commission, a total of 4,639,816 voters cast their ballots by 5 PM out of the 44,649,908 eligible voters nationwide. This turnout is 1.19 percentage points higher than the 9.2% recorded during the same period for the 8th local elections in 2022. Compared to the 7th local elections in 2018, the current early voting rate is up by 2.49 percentage points.
However, the participation rate is 7.12 percentage points lower than the turnout seen during the same period for last year’s presidential election.
Regional Turnout Highlights
Geographically, Jeollanam-do Province led the nation with a remarkable 20.5% turnout, being the only region to surpass the 20% mark. Following closely were Jeollabuk-do Province at 17.63%, Gwangju Metropolitan City at 12.76%, and Gangwon Province at 13.05%.
Conversely, Daegu Metropolitan City recorded the lowest turnout nationwide at 8.09%. The Seoul metropolitan area saw participation rates below the national average, with Seoul itself at 9.93%, Incheon at 9.05%, and Gyeonggi Province at 8.68%.
Other regions reported the following turnout rates: Gyeongsangnam-do at 11.02%, Jeju Province at 11.01%, Sejong City at 10.94%, Chungcheongbuk-do at 10.79%, Gyeongsangbuk-do at 10.74%, Chungcheongnam-do at 10.34%, Ulsan at 9.62%, Busan at 9.57%, and Daejeon at 9.57%.
Early Voting Details
Early voting is scheduled to continue for two days, concluding on October 30th. Voters can cast their ballots at any of the 3,571 early voting stations nationwide between 6 AM and 6 PM. To vote, individuals must present a form of identification that includes a photograph, such as a resident registration card, driver’s license, or passport.
Mobile identification is accepted only if the application verifies the voter’s photo, name, and date of birth. Screenshots of identification are not permissible.
The locations of all early voting stations are available on the homepage of the National Election Commission and major portal sites.
