Security officers are diligently guarding a Thailand Post warehouse, where ballots are being prepared for nationwide distribution in anticipation of the upcoming elections. The Election Commission (EC) recently addressed the need for nearly 5 million extra ballots, explaining that they are typically distributed in bound sets of 20, which increases the overall amount needed. Extra ballots are always kept as spares at every one of the 100,000 polling stations spread across the country, according to EC Secretary-General Sawaeng Boonmee’s Facebook post.
For the election scheduled on May 14th, there are 52.23 million eligible voters, while approximately 57.2 million ballots have been printed in 2.86 million bound sets, consisting of 20 ballots each. As Mr. Sawaeng clarifies, “The number of printed ballots treated as spare ballots is therefore 4.96 million.” One collection of 20 ballots will be distributed to each of the 100,000 polling stations, which means that 2 million of the 4.96 million extra ballots will be reserved for this purpose.
Another set of 20 ballots will be delivered to each of the 100,000 polling stations, specifically for the station committee members. The number of these members typically varies from nine to 15, depending on the total number of registered voters at a polling station. Furthermore, Mr. Sawaeng explains, “Another 900,000 or so will be used for the two above-mentioned reasons in advance voting both in the country and overseas, while the remaining spare ballots will be kept for use in case of emergency.”
For instance, in case of a riot, 94 Thai voters might not be able to complete their advance voting in Sudan. These spare ballots will likely be utilized by those voters when they return to Thailand to vote on May 14th. This strategic allocation of spare ballots ensures smooth and efficient election processes, both domestically and for overseas citizens, accommodating unexpected situations and reinforcing the importance of voter participation in the democratic process.
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