The Chungcheongbuk-do's National Election Commission and the General Students' Association(GSA) had agreed to install the polling place to cast absentee ballots. After GSA posted a notice on absentee voting on May 5th on the official website, students were asked to fill out the application form at collge building lobbies. The registration for absentee voting was closed at 4 p.m. on May 14th.
In order to set up a polling place for the absentees, the number of applicants must be more than 2,000. The number of applicants in Chungbuk National University was 2,080, so the polling place was set up on the second floor of the new students' Building.
The absentee ballot system makes it possible for the people who can not vote at the resident-registration area to vote at another area. During the period of absentee registration, absentee notifications should arrive at the city hall by post or in person. The dates of absentee voting were from the 5th to the 28th of May, and the number of voters at the polling place was 2,464 people.
The polling place for the absentees was set up in seventeen universities all over the country. That figure is the biggest ever. The GSA tried to improve voter turnout and acquired funding to help establish the polling place.
In the local election of 2006, a turnout of the voters who were in their early 20s was 38.8%. The record was lower than the national average of 51.6%. Voting is the basic means to participate in the decision-making process and also a duty to exercise one's political right. The university students should not forget their right as citizen and should perform their duties.