Key Facts
• On July 5, 2025, an early voting error occurred in Niihama, Ehime.
• A voter mistakenly placed a proportional representation ballot for the Senate election into the box for a prefectural by-election.
• The incident happened at the city hall’s early voting station around 2:00 PM.
• The invalidated vote was for the proportional representation section of the Senate election.
• The error was discovered after the voter reported it to election officials.
• At the time, 173 voters visited the polling station within an hour, causing congestion.
• Ten staff members were managing the polling station during the incident.
• The Niihama Election Management Committee apologized to the voter and confirmed no impact on other elections.
• Measures to prevent recurrence include monitoring voter movement and issuing reminders to voters.
Summary
An early voting error in Niihama, Ehime, on July 5, 2025, resulted in one invalidated vote for the Senate election. A voter mistakenly placed a proportional representation ballot into the box for a prefectural by-election. The error, reported by the voter, occurred during a busy period when 173 voters visited the polling station in an hour. The Niihama Election Management Committee apologized and confirmed no impact on other elections. To prevent future errors, officials plan to monitor voter movement and provide reminders.
