The Election Commission of Thailand (ECT) explained that 168.3 million ballot papers were printed for both the general election and the referendum, and reiterated that the actual referendum ballots are yellow.
The Election Commission of Thailand (ECT) clarified that 168.3 million ballots for both the House of Representatives and the referendum will be printed, calculated from the number of eligible voters along with reserve ballots. They emphasized that the referendum ballots actually used will be yellow.
January 9, 2569 – Office of the Election Commission (EC) Clarification regarding the printing of 3 types of cards. This comprises 56.1 million ballots each for constituency-based MPs, party-list MPs, and referendum votes. This calculation is based on approximately 53.4 million eligible voters and referendum voters, plus a reserve of approximately 5% of that number, to be used for allocating ballots in three rounds of voting as follows:
- Voters casting ballots outside the Kingdom must be allocated in sufficient quantities for those registered to vote in parliamentary elections and referendums outside the Kingdom. These ballots must be sent to the Royal Thai Embassy and Consulate-General in accordance with the number of registered voters for parliamentary elections and referendums outside the Kingdom, as well as reserve ballots stored at each of the 95 Royal Thai Embassy and Consulate-General.
- For advance voting (before the general election), a sufficient number of ballots must be allocated to accommodate the number of registered advance voters at the 424 central polling stations outside the district and the 421 central polling stations within the district. Additionally, a reserve supply must be kept at each central polling station both outside and within the district.
- The allocation of votes for the general election/referendum day must be sufficient to accommodate the number of eligible voters in each polling station (after deducting those registered outside the district and outside the country). There are approximately 100,000 polling stations nationwide.
- The allocation of ballot papers for parliamentary elections and referendums will be in full booklets (more than the number of eligible voters). One booklet will contain 20 ballot papers to be used for voting according to points 1-3.
The Election Commission of Thailand (ECT) affirmed that the printing of ballot papers for both the parliamentary elections and the referendum took into account maximizing benefits and cost-effectiveness, ensuring that the parliamentary elections and the referendum are conducted honestly, fairly, and in accordance with the law.
When the number of ballots printed for constituency-based MPs, party-list MPs, and referendum votes are combined, this election will see a total of 168.3 million ballots printed. The ballot for proportional representation MPs will be pink, the ballot for constituency MPs will be green, and the referendum ballot will be yellow.
Previously, the Election Commission of Thailand (ECT) sent a guide on how to vote in the referendum to every household of eligible voters to seek their approval of the new constitution. This guide included an image of a "blue" referendum ballot. As a result, the ECT has now issued a clarification to the public, stating that the actual ballot to be used on election day will be "yellow."
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