The Royal Thai Consulate-General in New York, USA, has started sending envelopes containing parliamentary election ballots from overseas back to Thailand by mail for the first time, despite snowstorms and extremely cold weather conditions.
On 28 January 2026, Ms. Somjai Taphaopong, Consul General in New York, along with government officials and consulate staff, began the task of collecting and preparing envelopes containing overseas parliamentary election ballots. These were placed into diplomatic pouches at the consulate for the first mailing back to Thailand from John F. Kennedy International Airport.
The ballot envelopes will be sent in two batches. This first batch includes 1,757 envelopes, and the consulate is awaiting additional ballots to send a second batch on 30 January, ensuring the ballots are returned in time to be counted in Thailand.
Several voters in New York experienced issues with return mail from the consulate being rejected by the local postal service and sent back to the sender. This was found to be a technical problem within the US Postal Service. The consulate has since coordinated with the central postal authorities to resolve the issue, and no postal envelopes are currently held up or awaiting return.
Ms. Somjai Taphaopong, Consul General in New York, stated that although the overseas parliamentary election by mail faced various challenges—including tight deadlines from the Election Commission, local and technical postal issues, and harsh weather conditions with snowstorms—they have worked diligently to resolve problems and continuously inform the public. She expressed happiness that Thai citizens in New York and surrounding states showed greater-than-expected interest and participation, with many braving the snow and cold to personally deliver their ballot envelopes to the consulate.
Regarding the overseas referendum vote counting, the consulate will hold the count on 8 February 2026 at the Royal Thai Consulate-General in Manhattan, New York. Media representatives and interested members of the public are invited to observe the process.
By Phairoj Pakasin, New York correspondent