Most Thais across the country know that on Sunday, 8 February 2026, they must enter the polling booth to vote for representatives and parties who will serve in parliament, including a referendum on whether to approve the 2017 constitution amendments.
A significant number of eligible voters who find it inconvenient to travel on 8 February have registered for advance voting to cast their ballots for constituency MPs and party-list representatives on 1 February 2026.
But the question is: if someone registered for advance voting but cannot vote on 1 February 2026, what should they do?
A common question is whether those who miss (or are about to miss) the advance voting on 1 February can vote on 8 February 2026 like most people. The answer is no!
Registering for advance voting means the voter's name will not appear on the polling station list at their registered address on 8 February 2026.
For those who do not vote for members of parliament—both constituency MPs in all 400 districts nationwide and party-list representatives—on Sunday, 8 February, they must notify the Election Commission (EC) within seven days from election day, which is by Sunday, 15 February. Failure to report will result in political rights restrictions such as being barred from running for office, becoming a local council member, or initiating recall petitions, all for two years.
Those who registered for advance voting but did not vote on 1 February 2026 must also notify the Election Commission (EC). However, the notification period is from 2 to 15 February.
Simply put, the final day to report a reason for not voting is 15 February, allowing up to 14 days for notification.
Those who did not vote can report their reasons online at www.bora.dopa.go.th or in person at their district office or local administrative office according to their registered address.