Elderly voters inadvertently tear ballot papers, violating Thai election law

Instances of individuals tearing up ballot papers were reported in various provinces across Thailand. Most of those involved were elderly individuals who suffer from health conditions, and they maintained that they had no intention of damaging the papers.

The Royal Thai Police revealed that the police’s election coordination centre had received around 20 reports of voters tearing up their ballot papers throughout the country. In Hat Yai, in Songkhla province, a 76 year old retiree tore a green ballot paper, representing the party-list system, in half as she did not see the purple one and believed only one ballot was necessary. Officials discovered the incident when the woman, who claimed to have eyesight issues, presented the two pieces to the officers and asked what she should do next. The woman was handed over to the police and now potentially faces charges of violating election law.

In the Thalang district of Phuket, a 77 year old man ripped his marked ballot papers, believing it was the correct procedure. His family informed the police that the man was undergoing treatment for an ischemic stroke and had experienced some memory loss. Initially charged with damaging the ballot, the man’s family were told to provide medical evidence of the illness.

In Udon Thani province, two ballot paper tearing incidents were reported. The first case involved an 84 year old man with Alzheimer’s disease, who made a tear in the ballot paper for the party-list system at a polling station in Nong Wua So district. He informed election officials that he believed he had misplaced the purple ballot, so he tore the green ballot paper into two pieces to have two separate ballots to place in the two ballot boxes.

In the Kut Chap district, a 61 year old man also tore a purple ballot paper out of frustration because he couldn’t find the number he wanted to vote for. He approached election officials for a new ballot and was informed that what he had done was illegal. The voter explained to the police that he’d confused the constituency and party-list ballots and hadn’t realised tearing the ballot paper was against the law.

Two ballot paper tearing cases were also reported in Samut Prakan province involving an 87 year old woman and an 83 year old man at two separate voting stations. Both individuals were reportedly suffering from Alzheimer’s disease, and it was concluded that they had damaged the papers unintentionally.

In the Mueang district in Krabi, a 21 year old man, claiming to be a first-time voter, tore both ballot papers after marking them. He then dropped the marked portions in the ballot boxes and kept the remainder. Finally, in Sung Men district in Phrae, officials stated that an intoxicated voter fell in the polling booth and damaged a ballot paper in the process.