Election Commission in Tight Spot: Left or Right, Both Paths Are Risky

On February 18, 2024, Somchai Srisutthiyakorn, a former Election Commission member, posted on Facebook about the ongoing uncertainty regarding election ballots for three voting units. The commission has spent days in meetings without reaching a conclusion on whether to use old ballots with barcodes and QR codes or print new ballots without codes. The stakes are high, as using coded ballots could trigger widespread 'Conan' investigation processes across Bangkok, Nan, and Udon Thani, where special re-elections are planned. Various teams are competing to decode the 'talking ballots' that potentially reveal voter identities, with hundred of teams attempting to crack the code. The dilemma remains: if they print new ballots for the February 22 re-election, it might be seen as an admission that the original ballots were problematic.