Sahasawat summarizes the barcode case ruling, noting that even the court suggests the Election Commission should discontinue methods that can trace votes back to individual voters.
On 28 Sep 2026, Sahasawat Khumkhong, a Chonburi MP from the People's Party, posted on Facebook summarizing the Constitutional Court's decision on the barcode ballot case. He explained that everyone knows there are barcodes on the party-list ballots. If three documents—the ballot, the ballot stub, and the voter list—are compared, it is possible to identify who cast that ballot and which party they voted for. The court acknowledged this possibility but ruled it does not violate the constitution because, in practice, gathering these three documents together to trace a voter's choice is difficult. After the election, these documents are stored under the care of various officials. Anyone outside would need cooperation from those with access, which would be illegal without proper authority. The court also noted there is no evidence that anyone has actually used this system to identify voters. Therefore, while barcodes could potentially trace votes back to individuals, this has not reached a level that violates the constitution.
The court even recommended the Election Commission to discontinue use.
Sahasawat posted that regarding constituency ballots, the court saw they do not directly link back to individual voters as party-list ballots do, and identifying who voted for whom is very difficult. Another important point is the court's interpretation of the secret ballot: it does not mean all retrospective verification systems are forbidden. The Constitutional Court stated that the Election Commission may have systems to verify ballots to prevent counterfeit votes, misuse across districts, or fraud. The court accepted the EC's rationale that barcodes are for controlling and verifying ballots, not for revealing how voters voted. However, the court also clearly stated that such systems affect public confidence.
The court recommended that in the future, the Election Commission should design ballots that allow verification and fraud prevention without using codes or marks that can be traced back to identify individual voters. In summary, the court acknowledged that barcodes on party-list ballots can be used to trace who voted for which party, but noted that actual use requires combining multiple data sets, is difficult to do, and there is no evidence it has occurred. Thus, the court ruled this does not violate the constitution but advised the EC to stop using any methods that can trace votes back to individuals in future elections to preserve public trust.