Thai Election Commission Admits Technical Glitches In Advance Election

[webfact]

Election Commission admits technical glitches in advance election

BANGKOK, June 27 -- Election Commission (EC) secretary-general Suthipol Thaweechaikarn on Monday admitted that there were some technical glitches in the advance election on Sunday as slightly over 50 per cent of eligible voters who had registered for advance voting exercised their rights.

Mr Suthipol said the advance election nationwide was run smoothly in general, with some 1.49 million voters or 55.6 per cent of some 2.6 million voters who had registered for advance voting outside their constituencies casting their ballots. Meanwhile, some 90 per cent of voters who registered to vote in advance at their constituencies exercised their rights.

However, the EC secretary general said that the main problems found were the voters could not vote in time when the polls closed at 3pm as many voters had registered for advance voting, while some other voters' names went missing.

Mr Suthipol said the EC would discuss the problem and work out the solution.

The EC was also confident that there would be no problem in the process of transporting the ballot boxes back to the provinces for counting on the election day on July 3.

Meanwhile, Bangkok Metropolitan Administration (BMA) Permanent Secretary Charoenrat Chutikarn said in Bangkok alone, 1,079,923 persons who had registered for advance voting and 631,513 or 58.48 per cent cast their ballots in advance at 50 districts of the capital.

At Bangkapi district where 104,016 people registered for off-constituency voting in advance, the highest number in the country, 59,913 or 57.60 per cent of the voters turned out to vote.

While advance voting in constituency, 35,037 had registered and 31,144 or 88.89 per cent cast their ballots.

The highest turnout in Bangkok districts was at Bangkhen, where 1,199 persons or 87.17 per cent of the 1,367 registered voters cast their ballots. (MCOT online news)

-- TNA 2011-06-27

[Junglejumbo]

What they don't mention is that those 2.6m people who registered for advance voting includes those who also registered prior to the 2007 election as advance voters in 2007 must have cancelled their advance voting registration prior to yesterday in order to be eligible to vote this coming Sunday. Therefore, potentially over 1m voters will be showing up this Sunday to vote and will find that they can't.

I think advance voting should be considered temporary and not forever.

Basically the technical difficulties help the Democrats as the majority of the advance voters are from Issan and the north. So if they can cut down on 1m votes from a 29m electorate then that's about 3.4% Assuming about 80% are from Thaksin regions then the Dems have already cut the margin of difference down by almost 3% with the help of the EC.

Edited June 27, 2011 by Junglejumbo

[tigermonkey]

Let's see -- voter "A' shows up at the polling place early and is told that his name is no longer on the voters' list. Voters 'B', 'C' and 'D' arrive during the last hour of voting, wait in the long line and then are told, " Sorry, it is now after 3 PM and it is too late to vote"

K Suthipol says that the EC will "work out the solution" to these problems.

One can only speculate how many voters were turned away by these two situations.

" work out the solution" ?? --- I'm sure the EC will tell them that it is their problem , and to go vote on July 3 at their registered place of residence. A simple solution to the problem. TIT

[animatic]

The EC should not have taken their little Junket to Europe.

[rubl]

What they don't mention is that those 2.6m people who registered for advance voting includes those who also registered prior to the 2007 election as advance voters in 2007 must have cancelled their advance voting registration prior to yesterday in order to be eligible to vote this coming Sunday. Therefore, potentially over 1m voters will be showing up this Sunday to vote and will find that they can't.

I think advance voting should be considered temporary and not forever.

Basically the technical difficulties help the Democrats as the majority of the advance voters are from Issan and the north. So if they can cut down on 1m votes from a 29m electorate then that's about 3.4% Assuming about 80% are from Thaksin regions then the Dems have already cut the margin of difference down by almost 3% with the help of the EC.

A majority of 'advance voters' is from outside Bangkok, but not necessarily from Isaan. There are also lots of people from the South. I've never seen details on this, may be someone else can provide those.

I completely agree with you that advance voting should be a 'one off', automatically cleared after the general elections and to be explicitly renewed if/when required.

[bluebluewater]

Have those EC folks who trotted off to Europe even made it back yet?

I'll bet not as the early voting in Sweden, etc. was important to keep tabs on.

[OzMick]

What they don't mention is that those 2.6m people who registered for advance voting includes those who also registered prior to the 2007 election as advance voters in 2007 must have cancelled their advance voting registration prior to yesterday in order to be eligible to vote this coming Sunday. Therefore, potentially over 1m voters will be showing up this Sunday to vote and will find that they can't.

I think advance voting should be considered temporary and not forever.

Basically the technical difficulties help the Democrats as the majority of the advance voters are from Issan and the north. So if they can cut down on 1m votes from a 29m electorate then that's about 3.4% Assuming about 80% are from Thaksin regions then the Dems have already cut the margin of difference down by almost 3% with the help of the EC.

Some mighty big assumptions there! Just because they originally come from a region doesn't make them Thaksin supporters, so first you would have to reduce your assumption to the percentage in that region who vote PTP.

You might also consider that an Isaaner who has moved to BKK seeking a better living might not be all that happy seeing a large chunk of his tax being paid as a rice subsidy to those less enterprising.

There is also the red shirt line that their supporters are on the lowest economic rung. How do they afford to travel/take holidays?

[FOODLOVER]

No kidding. Guys back from vacation yet?

[geriatrickid]

I would have expected a much higher voter turnout at these polls. If people go to the effort of registering to vote, it suggests that they are more likely to vote. And yet, a turnout of approx. 50%? Curious.

[PingManDan]

Yes and next Sunday, they admit that the whole system has mysteriously failed

[Bkkorupcountry]

I would have expected a much higher voter turnout at these polls. If people go to the effort of registering to vote, it suggests that they are more likely to vote. And yet, a turnout of approx. 50%? Curious.

A large proportion were forced to stay behind in the big cities to cater to the "rights" of the ex-pat committee to buy alcohol and drink.

[whybother]

I would have expected a much higher voter turnout at these polls. If people go to the effort of registering to vote, it suggests that they are more likely to vote. And yet, a turnout of approx. 50%? Curious.

A large proportion were forced to stay behind in the big cities to cater to the "rights" of the ex-pat committee to buy alcohol and drink.

If you had any idea, you would know that advanced voting was exactly for the people who had to stay behind in the big cities. The advanced voting is for people who can't get back to their homes (or can't be there next week).

[rubl]

I would have expected a much higher voter turnout at these polls. If people go to the effort of registering to vote, it suggests that they are more likely to vote. And yet, a turnout of approx. 50%? Curious.

It seems all who registered for advance voting the last year(s?) are still on the list instead of it being a one-off thing. That might explain the 50% turnout. No data on this.

Those who registered for advance voting in their constituency, but didn't yesterday may still vote coming Sunday. Those who registered outside their constituency, but didn't vote, will be excluded from coming Sunday's voting.

It seems the Election Laws are up for some minor adjustments.

[tlansford]

There is also the red shirt line that their supporters are on the lowest economic rung. How do they afford to travel/take holidays?

I guess like my GF they are working...

Results in 1 week...

[Bkkorupcountry]

I would have expected a much higher voter turnout at these polls. If people go to the effort of registering to vote, it suggests that they are more likely to vote. And yet, a turnout of approx. 50%? Curious.

A large proportion were forced to stay behind in the big cities to cater to the "rights" of the ex-pat committee to buy alcohol and drink.

If you had any idea, you would know that advanced voting was exactly for the people who had to stay behind in the big cities. The advanced voting is for people who can't get back to their homes (or can't be there next week).

I am happy to stand corrected. So I will edit my post as follows:

A large proportion were forced to stay behind in the big cities to cater to the "rights" of the ex-pat committee to buy alcohol and drink and thus could not go to vote

[monkfish]

With the mistake printing the ballots and now this, does make you wonder which side the EC is on.

[whybother]

With the mistake printing the ballots and now this, does make you wonder which side the EC is on.

Is there anything to suggest that the glitches in advanced voting or the extra ballots would favour one particular side?

[whybother]

I am happy to stand corrected. So I will edit my post as follows:

A large proportion were forced to stay behind in the big cities to cater to the "rights" of the ex-pat committee to buy alcohol and drink and thus could not go to vote

Except that the ex-pat community were not allowed to buy alcohol, so the voters had the freedom to go and vote.

[monkfish]

With the mistake printing the ballots and now this, does make you wonder which side the EC is on.

Is there anything to suggest that the glitches in advanced voting or the extra ballots would favour one particular side?

That's one more thing to add to the list.

I was talking about the misprint of the PTP logo on the ballots.

[whybother]

With the mistake printing the ballots and now this, does make you wonder which side the EC is on.

Is there anything to suggest that the glitches in advanced voting or the extra ballots would favour one particular side?

That's one more thing to add to the list.

I was talking about the misprint of the PTP logo on the ballots.

Do you think PTP voters will have trouble remembering the number 1?

[animatic]

However, the EC secretary general said that the main problems found were the voters could not vote in time when the polls closed at 3pm as many voters had registered for advance voting, while some other voters' names went missing.

Sounds like how George W. Bush won Florida actually.

[animatic]

With the mistake printing the ballots and now this, does make you wonder which side the EC is on.

Is there anything to suggest that the glitches in advanced voting or the extra ballots would favour one particular side?

That's one more thing to add to the list.

I was talking about the misprint of the PTP logo on the ballots.

Do you think PTP voters will have trouble remembering the number 1?

Chances are.

[monkfish]

With the mistake printing the ballots and now this, does make you wonder which side the EC is on.

Is there anything to suggest that the glitches in advanced voting or the extra ballots would favour one particular side?

That's one more thing to add to the list.

I was talking about the misprint of the PTP logo on the ballots.

Do you think PTP voters will have trouble remembering the number 1?

lol

What if they put the cross in the wrong box?

Will the vote count?

[Bkkorupcountry]

I am happy to stand corrected. So I will edit my post as follows:

A large proportion were forced to stay behind in the big cities to cater to the "rights" of the ex-pat committee to buy alcohol and drink and thus could not go to vote

Except that the ex-pat community were not allowed to buy alcohol, so the voters had the freedom to go and vote.

Ah.... but if you read the other thread, you will see that many of them actually managed to buy alcohol, whether they were allowed to or not.

On another note, if you knowingly bought alcohol knowing that the sale of alcohol was banned, is that a crime?

[whybother]

I am happy to stand corrected. So I will edit my post as follows:

A large proportion were forced to stay behind in the big cities to cater to the "rights" of the ex-pat committee to buy alcohol and drink and thus could not go to vote

Except that the ex-pat community were not allowed to buy alcohol, so the voters had the freedom to go and vote.

Ah.... but if you read the other thread, you will see that many of them actually managed to buy alcohol, whether they were allowed to or not.

On another note, if you knowingly bought alcohol knowing that the sale of alcohol was banned, is that a crime?

I wonder how many of them were out buying alcohol before 3pm?

[whybother]

Do you think PTP voters will have trouble remembering the number 1?

lol

What if they put the cross in the wrong box?

Will the vote count?

Most likely. Who's going to know it was the wrong box?

Maybe they'll see the 1 and ignore the zero and vote for Democrats instead.

[Bkkorupcountry]

I am happy to stand corrected. So I will edit my post as follows:

A large proportion were forced to stay behind in the big cities to cater to the "rights" of the ex-pat committee to buy alcohol and drink and thus could not go to vote

Except that the ex-pat community were not allowed to buy alcohol, so the voters had the freedom to go and vote.

Ah.... but if you read the other thread, you will see that many of them actually managed to buy alcohol, whether they were allowed to or not.

On another note, if you knowingly bought alcohol knowing that the sale of alcohol was banned, is that a crime?

I wonder how many of them were out buying alcohol before 3pm?

And then, there is this other post from another poster:

Went to Lotus earlier where I was refused beer So went next door to the Thai corner shop and was served immediately

Always been the same Thai shops do not keep to set hours for selling booze

[whybother]

Which one to respond to?

It appears those few locations employed the half a million people (or whatever number) that didn't make it to vote yesterday. All because of a few expats.

[Bkkorupcountry]

Which one to respond to?

It appears those few locations employed the half a million people (or whatever number) that didn't make it to vote yesterday. All because of a few expats.

Haha. No response needed. My initial post was meant to be tongue in cheek

[Crushdepth]

With the mistake printing the ballots and now this, does make you wonder which side the EC is on.

Is there anything to suggest that the glitches in advanced voting or the extra ballots would favour one particular side?

That's one more thing to add to the list.

I was talking about the misprint of the PTP logo on the ballots.

The problem is that they used a logo that is horizontally very wide. So of course it is illegible when printed in a small box. All the other parties used logos that are 'squareish'. So did the EC screw it up or did some dimwit at PTP just give them an inappropriate logo?

Thai printers aren't exactly 'renowned' for their attention to quality control, either.