The Deputy Secretary-General of the Election Commission confirmed that although ballots have barcodes, no one can know whom the votes were cast for because voting is done individually in the booth. Worapong Anancharoenkij explained that the codes on ballots comply with regulations and do not require prior notification, serving to prevent forgery.
On 13 Feb 2026 GMT+7 at the Election Commission Office, Deputy Secretary-General Lt. Pasakorn Siripakdayaporn addressed concerns that barcodes on ballots might reveal voter choices. He explained that on voting day, voters verify their names on the list, then election officials record and sign the ballot stub before tearing the ballot. He asked rhetorically who sees the vote inside the booth, emphasizing that voting is a private right known only to the voter, as no one else can see or know the choice inside the booth.
Regarding whether it is possible to know votes, Lt. Pasakorn stated the law specifies that if a voter publicly displays a marked ballot to reveal their choice, it is an offense.
Secondly, the law prohibits voters from using any devices or equipment to photograph their marked ballot. Both offenses carry criminal penalties and revocation of voting rights.
“Since a voter alone enters the booth to mark their ballot, revealing it is simply impossible,” he said.
Lt. Pasakorn further explained that after leaving the booth, voters deposit their ballots themselves. After voting closes at 17:00 GMT+7, vote counting begins with officials calling out ballots without knowing to whom they belong since stubs are separated. This process continues until counting finishes. Ballots are then sealed in transparent plastic bags separated by valid, spoiled, and non-vote ballots, secured with cable ties. These sealed bags cannot be opened once packed. Each ballot type undergoes this process before being placed in ballot boxes, which are sealed with tape and straps as the first security step. Each box is then sent to election coordination centers for consolidation.
All ballot boxes are consolidated without unsealing the straps, so it is impossible to know which unit they came from. Documentation is maintained on the box front.
The final stage in the ballot boxes is only the vote counting process. Party-list ballots are handled separately and sent to district registrars and local registrars to announce voters who are disqualified. After consolidation, the ballot boxes are securely stored at places such as police stations, district offices, or the Election Commission, with security measures in place. They are kept for two years until the complaint period expires, after which the ballots can be destroyed.
“The Election Commission cannot open ballots to see who cast them. Even the EC itself has no authority to do so except when ordering a recount,” Lt. Pasakorn said. He emphasized that voting at every unit is direct and secret under Section 85 of the Constitution, and no one can interfere with this process.
Lt. Pasakorn added that although ballots have barcodes, scanning them requires combining three elements: 1) the ballot stub, which is already stored separately and whose location is unknown after consolidation; 2) the voter list held by registrars, noting who did not vote; and 3) the actual voting process, which is direct and secret under the Constitution.
“Worapong” explains codes on ballots comply with regulations and law, no prior notification required.
Worapong Anancharoenkij, Director of the Election Support Office, explained that QR and barcodes on ballots stem from legal provisions under the Election Commission regulation on House of Representatives elections, Article 29. This authorizes the EC to include codes or other markings on ballots without prior notice to prevent forgery. Barcodes and QR codes are part of multiple secret anti-forgery measures and also serve to manage and control ballots efficiently to ensure honest and fair elections. For example, barcodes track the number of ballots printed to verify no excess printing occurs.
Next, during binding and tracking, QR and barcodes help verify that each booklet of 20 ballots contains complete serial numbers. This tracking prevents ballot shortages or inconsistencies during elections.
When distributing ballots, if any ballots leak or are smuggled out, the codes allow tracing responsibility and identifying suspects.
For fraud detection, these codes help check for counterfeit ballots or cross-district/unit voting. For example, when ballot stubs were found and circulated on social media, barcodes enabled tracing the specific ballot number and investigating who leaked the ballot, which was still in an unopened booklet. This system is used not only for incident investigation but also for overall election integrity and fairness.
“We confirm that at every step, no one can know which candidate or party a voter chose. Even if ballot images with QR codes circulate, this does not prove who cast that vote,” Worapong said.
Worapong also stated that ballot boxes and stubs are securely stored with strict separation and security measures. He is confident that ballots cast on 8 Feb 2026 GMT+7 cannot be linked to any voter or political party choice.
Lt. Pasakorn urged the media not to speculate, stressing that the entire process—from voting to secure storage for two years—is confidential. Even the EC cannot open ballots except when ordering a recount. He reaffirmed that the elections held on 1 and 8 February were direct and secret as guaranteed under Section 85 of the Thai Constitution.
