Ballot shortage protests expose deep election distrust, draw far-right election fraud campaigners People gather outside the No. 2 polling station in Jamsil 7-dong, Songpa-gu, Seoul, on Wednesday, holding signs reading "Suspend vote counting" and "Invalidate the election" after voting hours were extended to 10 p.m. due to a ballot shortage during the June 3 local elections. (Yonhap) Overnight protests over voting disruptions caused by a ballot paper shortage in Seoul's Songpa-gu continued into Thursday morning, with demonstrators physically blocking the transfer of ballot boxes to a counting center.Well past 10 a.m., protesters remained gathered outside Jamsil 7-dong's No. 2 polling station, set up at the Woosung Apartment senior citizens' center, although the crowd thinned as the work day began.Local reports estimated the crowd at around 200 people at around 8 a.m., including conservative YouTubers and their supporters. Police said attendance had peaked at around 300 people after 10 p.m. the previous night.At the height of the overnight standoff around 3 a.m., about 470 officers, including local police personnel and mobile units, were deployed to the scene, officials said. Protesters continue their rally outside the No. 2 polling station in Jamsil 7-dong, Songpa-gu, Seoul, on Thursday morning, demanding a rerun of the election following a ballot shortage during the June 3 local elections. (Threads) Volunteers distribute water, tissues and mats to protesters gathered outside Jamsil 7-dong's No. 2 polling station in Seoul on Thursday, where demonstrations continued for a second day. (X) Ballot boxes remain at the No. 2 polling station in Jamsil 7-dong, Songpa-gu, Seoul, on Thursday morning as their transfer is delayed amid escalating protests over a ballot shortage during Wednesday's local elections. (Yonhap) The National Election Commission estimated that the two untransferred ballot boxes contained votes cast by roughly 2,000 people.While protesters continued to block the transfer of ballot boxes and demand a redo of the election, the NEC said it would refrain from forcibly moving the boxes for the time being due to concerns over physical clashes.The commission, however, maintained that the situation did not justify suspending vote counting or holding a rerun of the election. Kim Min-soo, a Supreme Council member of the People Power Party, joins protesters at a rally outside the National Election Commission in Gwacheon, Gyeonggi Province, on Thursday over a ballot shortage that disrupted voting in Wednesday's local elections. (Yonhap) Protesters claiming election fraud sit outside the Jung-gu Election Commission office in Daegu on Thursday. (Yonhap) Protesters camp outside the Jung-gu Election Commission office in Daegu on Thursday. (Yonhap) Protests demanding a rerun of the election appeared to be spreading to election commission offices across the country.Some conservative politicians and their supporters staged a rally outside the National Election Commission headquarters in Gwacheon, Gyeonggi Province, protesting ballot shortages reported during the local elections.In Daegu, more than 100 protesters gathered outside the Jung-gu Election Commission office shortly after midnight, claiming election irregularities and demanding that the vote be held again.