On May 29, 2020, a high-level meeting between South Korean and US officials took place via video conference to discuss election procedures prior to the 2020 US presidential election.
Participating in the meeting were officials from the US Department of State, the National Association of Secretaries of State (NASS), and the National Association of State Election Directors (NASED), as well as South Korean officials from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the National Election Commission, and the Ministry of the Interior and Safety.
The participants discussed various aspects of election procedures, including early voting procedures, absentee and residential voting systems, and election administration under pandemic conditions.
South Korean officials provided detailed explanations regarding public health measures inside polling stations, ballot handling and counting procedures, and methods used to process and disinfect ballots cast by infected or quarantined voters.
Deputy Assistant Secretary Marc Knapper expressed his appreciation for South Korea's willingness to share its experience and stated that South Korea's election experience would provide valuable lessons for the United States as it prepared for the 2020 presidential election.
The timing of this meeting is particularly noteworthy, as it took place just over five months before the US presidential election of November 3, 2020.
Dozens of American state and county election officials sought and received detailed briefings from South Korean election authorities concerning election procedures and pandemic-era voting practices.
The existence of this meeting raises legitimate questions worthy of further examination, including why American election officials considered South Korea's election model sufficiently important to study in detail, and to what extent, if any, the practices discussed during this meeting were incorporated into election preparations within various American states.
The United States has a long history of conducting democratic elections, and it is remarkable that US election officials formally requested detailed guidance from South Korean authorities regarding election procedures and pandemic-era voting practices.
At a minimum, this episode deserves greater public awareness and further historical examination.
