Overseas Thais were the first group of voters to cast their votes in the 2026 general election and referendum. Some have found the process easy and trustworthy, while some have face difficulties making their voices count.

As far as Wittawat’s experience goes, his overseas vote from California has been “very impressive”.

His request for mail-in ballots was processed without issue. All the required paperwork was sent by mail, including detailed directions, the candidates’ names, and a traceable, prepaid return envelope.

As the Kingdom heads toward a general election and a referendum on a new constitution, hundreds of thousands of Thais overseas were the first to cast their votes. Embassies and consulates scrambled to facilitate voter registration, tallying votes, and flying them back in diplomatic mail pouches.

While Thai embassies in many countries were praised for their efficiency, many voters face problems that create doubts about whether their vote will be counted.

Separate referendum registration sows confusion within simplicity

In general, overseas citizens can vote in-person or by mail-in ballot. It is up to the embassies to decide what services they will provide. Some choose one method, while others allow voters to choose either option.

In the United States, the embassy used a mail-in ballot system in which registered voters received ballot papers to mark, then returned them to the designated consulates.

In my case, the online registration was smooth. The government registration portal seems to load slowly here, or even crash. A solution I found is to access it past midnight in the Thailand time zone to avoid the jamming internet traffic.

And the ballot package dropped into my mailbox in Virginia on 16 January. Containing similar attachments as Wittawat’s, the only difference is that my prepaid return envelope is to be sent to the nearby consulate in Washington, DC by 27 January.

Ballots that were sent to my home

In a similar process all over the US, envelopes are to be sent back to the designated consulates in New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, or Washington, DC.

One issue that all sources in the US find questionable is the separate referendum registration.

Election Commission (EC) regulations state that overseas registration for the referendum must be made within the same period as for the general election process. However, the registration period was relatively short - just three days (3-5 January) - while the registration for the election was open for over two weeks (20 December - 5 January).

It raises the question of why the process has to be done separately and why there was only a small time window to register.

This complication seems to have its origin in the EC, as embassies around the world, such as in the US, Tokyo, or Paris, emphasized the separate process in line with EC directives.

EC Secretary-General, Sawaeng Boonmee, told reporters that the additional registration process takes only three minutes. With a timeframe of 4,320 minutes (72 hours multiplied by 60 minutes), voters should have enough time to get registered.

Katunchalee Chaichanawirote, a first-time voter from Chicago found otherwise, as the website repeatedly [AB1] crashed, and the announcement of the 3-day period during the New Year holidays also created more difficulties.

“There are people that asked why the registration could not be done at the same time, to get it done together. It makes people very confused,” said Katunchalee.

The Chicagoan said the Chicago Consulate was active in answering questions and announcing information. She still found the official language in the voting manual difficult to understand and had to seek help from social media posts.

Attached instructions from the Thai Embassy in the US

Wittawat agreed that a separate referendum registration has complicated the process a little. However, the consular staff were highly active in answering any questions via LINE chat. A Facebook demonstration by the LA Consul General, Tor Saralamba, also helped visualize what needs to be done.

Logistics hurdles

Registered overseas election voters, according to the EC totalled 139,810. But the number who registered for the referendum was 95,975, or one-third fewer.

The difference included cases in which some Thais did not receive a referendum ballot despite registering for it.

One of them was Ann (Pseudonym). She opened her package but could not find the referendum ballot.

In her chat with the LA consulate, which was shown to Prachatai, the staff said there was nothing more that could be done.

With nothing she could do, she had to declare her abstention in the referendum online, citing unforeseen circumstances.

“I feel very terrible. I think mistakes can happen, but there should be a way to solve them. And this is an important issue, but there is no plan B at all,” said Ann.

Messages between Ann and the LA Consulate, in which Ann told Consulate staff that she had already registered for the referendum and was told that they cannot send her the missing documents and that there is nothing they can do for her.

Logistics and the management of time and location have been issues in overseas voting. Harsh weather conditions or postal service delays have also played a role in hindering efforts to vote.

Nitiporn, a voter in England, registered to vote in the election and referendum in early January. The ballot documents, however, arrived three weeks later, leaving her only five business days to vote and return them to the embassy.

Experiencing delays from both the crash-prone registration website and postal deliveries, she is hopeful that her vote will bring about a government that is “truly elected by the people and will lead our homeland toward genuine democracy,” said Nitiporn.

Several people also commented on the London embassy’s Facebook post about delayed ballots. In Nitiporn’s case, she contacted the embassy and her ballot documents were re-sent.

A similar situation occurred in France, where the Paris embassy announced that delivery of voting materials was delayed due to failures in the French postal services. It extended the submission deadline from 30 January to 2 February.

It is unclear how many people were affected by delays, or did not receive a ballot at all. The Election Coordination Centre, Consular Affairs, did not respond to a request for comment by the time of publishing.

A mobile embassy unit at a Buddhist Temple not far from Washington DC facilitating registration. I talked to one of them who came because the website kept crashing. Many were elderly who find it difficult proceeding it online.

In Australia, the country with the largest number of registered voters, Phuangphan Phukham left no room for error as she flew to Sydney to vote in person.

“At first I planned to vote by mail, but I am not sure about the capability and speed of the Australian postal service,” said the Brisbane resident, who learned of the delayed delivery of some voters, and the way the mailperson may not leave the mail if nobody comes out to receive it.

As for experience, Phuangphan said the voting was quick and efficient. It took her less than 10 minutes to vote in the election and referendum, which is quicker and more organized than the voting she did in 2023.

Chawinroj Eurnithilert, a Thai voter in California who experienced multiple overseas ballot said the Thai embassy in the US has been efficient in handling the election. The referendum only adds another layer for voters to stay informed.

He wishes a proper mail-in ballot in the US could inspire a similar development in Thailand.

“(In the US,) We can sit on [the mail-in ballot] and read for a couple of weeks. There are media, mail, and everyone has the freedom to say you should vote for this, for that.”

“Ballot mail has a lot of details. It tells you that this referendum has its pros and cons for society. There are legal codes and other materials provided for reading. If you want to research it, they have it,” said Chawinroj.