"Somchai" emphasized that the code on election ballots exists to prevent counterfeiting, not for retrospective verification, following the Election Commission's explanation about the barcode on ballots.
Following online concerns about election ballots containing both barcodes and QR codes, which, when scanned, reveal unique codes, the public worried these codes might allow tracking of voters. The Election Commission clarified that the barcode on ballots is a security measure to identify the batch and polling unit, serving as a control for the Commission to trace origin, not to link ballots to any political party.Read more: Election Commission emphasizes thorough investigation in Chonburi—barcode on ballots is a high-standard security measure.)
Most recently (13 Feb 2026), Mr. Somchai Srisuthiyakorn, academic and former Election Commissioner, posted on Facebook that the ballots used by the Election Commission have significant production costs. Reports indicate pink ballots cost 1.40 baht each, green 1.20 baht, and yellow 1.00 baht. Three printing houses each print about 56 million ballots. With such high costs, there must be quality features unknown to ordinary people.
The printing specifications are very high, including designed patterns, special watermarks visible only under ultraviolet light, and microtext requiring magnifying glasses to see. All these are secret codes created to secure against ballot forgery.
This aligns with Election Regulations for MPs, Article 129, which states: “The committee may designate codes, marks, or other special texts on ballots without prior notice to prevent ballot counterfeiting.”
He emphasized that this is to prevent ballot forgery.
He stressed it is not for retrospective verification (tracking) of which booklet or ballot number corresponds to which voter, matching signatures on the stub to the voter registration list (MP Form 1/3), which records the order number corresponding to the ballot’s order.
Simply put, if each marked ballot has a code that can be traced back to its booklet and number, it would immediately reveal who voted for whom.
Pink ballots have barcodes which, when scanned, show the ballot’s number.
The “ballot number” is generated by a formula that can be traced back to the “booklet number.”
The distributed booklets are controlled by which polling unit they are used in, and by checking voter registration form MP 1/3, the voter’s identity can be determined. Article 85 of the Constitution states that MP elections must be conducted by direct and secret ballot.
Will this cause trouble, or will it just be another issue that quietly fades away?