Before casting your vote on 8 Feb 2026, let's understand the meaning behind the colors of the election ballots and why paper ballots are still used worldwide.
While organizations worldwide strive to become paperless by converting all documents into soft files for faster transfer to relevant persons or agencies,
this ensures transparency as it can be verified through a digital footprint.
It also conserves forest resources by not requiring paper pulp to produce sheets of paper.
... So why does Thailand, at every election level (local, provincial, national), insist on using paper ballots for voters’ selections, especially in the upcoming 8 February 2026 election, which will have three ballot papers?
The green ballot paper is for electing members of the House of Representatives by constituency.
The pink ballot paper is for electing members of the House of Representatives by party list.
The yellow ballot paper is for voting in a referendum on amendments to the 2017 constitution.
This means that from 55 million eligible voters, the Election Commission must prepare a total of 165 million ballot papers.
Why not use online or electronic counting systems at polling stations? Don’t other countries do that?
The key point is transparency and accountability, which are essential for a free and fair election.
Many developed countries have experimented with electronic or online voting systems but ultimately abandoned them, returning to marking X on paper ballots.
For example,
Germany's Constitutional Court ruled to cancel e-voting simply because "citizens must be able to verify election results with their own eyes," and reverted to paper ballots.
Ireland purchased electronic voting machines for polling stations but ultimately decided not to use them and has never employed electronic voting at polling stations since.
Australia had an online voting system called i-Vote to support disabled voters or those abroad, but discontinued it due to cybersecurity risks.
Canada, Japan, and Belgium allow electronic voting in local elections in some cities, but national elections still use paper ballots.
India, as the country with the largest number of voters globally, once used Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs) but now also includes paper verification systems at polling stations.
In the United States, each state has different voting methods; states using electronic voting machines provide printed paper trails. There is no national online voting.
Currently, only Estonia and Brazil conduct elections completely without paper.
For Thailand, which scores 34 out of 100 on the Corruption Perceptions Index (CPI) and ranks 107 out of 180 surveyed countries, if there is no confidence that electronic or online voting is safe and fair, it is best to continue using paper ballots.
Remember! On Sunday, 8 February 2026, from 08:00 to 17:00, you will receive three ballot papers, divided as follows:
Green ballot paper – to elect members of the House of Representatives by constituency.
Pink ballot paper – to elect members of the House of Representatives by party list.
Yellow ballot paper – to vote in the referendum on the 2017 constitution amendments.