SEOUL, South Korea — They came wearing masks and stood in line at three-foot intervals. They were required to have their body temperatures taken, to rub their hands with sanitizer and to put on disposable plastic gloves handed out by officials. Then they entered the booths and voted, as South Korea pressed ahead with its first election in a time of epidemic.

The coronavirus pandemic is disrupting political calendars around the world, causing delays and triggering electoral chaos​ in the United States. It has provoked voter ire in Wisconsin, where many absentee ballots failed to arrive in time and voters were afraid to put their health at risk by going out to cast their ballots.

In South Korea, the parliamentary election is proceeding relatively seamlessly so far — albeit with a lot of preparation and protocols in place to protect voters. The government is trying to assure its 44 million eligible voters that it is safe to leave their homes to go to the polls, even as it is urging the public to ​avoid large gatherings and ​practice social distancing​.

To make the voting run smoothly, South Korea has mobilized armies of public servants, including young men doing civic duty in lieu of mandatory military service, to prepare for the election. They have disinfected 14,000 voting stations across the country and marked waiting lines at three-foot intervals so voters avoid standing too close.