Bangkok: Concerns over the integrity of the secret ballot process have emerged as academics raise questions about the handling of barcodes and ballot stubs in the electoral process.
According to Thai News Agency, the Election Commission has claimed that although barcodes and QR codes on ballot papers can be scanned to identify voters' choices, the ballots and ballot stubs are stored separately, maintaining the principle of secret voting.
A review of the Election Commission's regulations for the election of Members of Parliament (2023) reveals Article 181, which mandates that remaining ballots and "ballot stubs" be sent to the district Election Commission. However, Article 184 stipulates that these items are eventually consolidated into the "ballot box" by appointed individuals, contradicting the initial separation and suggesting that ballots and stubs are ultimately stored together.
Photographic evidence from Euakarn Aramrak depicts ballot boxes with ballots and stubs stored together, challenging the Commission's assurance of separate storage. This raises the risk of scanning to determine voter choices, undermining the principle of secret voting. The Election Commission's stance that the voting process remained unseen is called into question, as the possibility of retrospective identification of votes violates Article 85 of the Constitution.
Even if ballots and stubs are separated, secrecy issues persist during vote counting. Vote buyers could potentially photograph ballot papers held up by officials, scan them, and identify voter choices, jeopardizing the confidentiality of the vote and enabling verification of compliance with any illicit vote-buying arrangements.