The following is a guest post by Foreign Law Specialist Sayuri Umeda, and the following foreign law interns who work with Sayuri: Raksmei Dara, Inseol Hong, Nguyet Le, and Panicha (Yuri) Rattanaboonsen.
As lawyers from Japan, Cambodia, South Korea, Vietnam, and Thailand, we were curious about the different rules and regulations for voting in public elections for each of the countries we represent, and decided to compare the voting methods of these countries. To our surprise, we found that each country had a different voting method.
The following three questions were asked:
- What is the voting age;
- What is the right of convicted criminals to vote, and
- What is the method of voting (national elections only, excluding proportional representation elections if that is not the only electoral system)?
Question 1 – What is the voting age in the countries above?
All countries have a voting age of 18. Voters must be 18 years of age or older on election day.
Question 2 – Do convicted criminals have the right to vote?
In all countries, those who are imprisoned are denied the right to vote.
In South Korea, such restrictions are limited to those who are serving sentences of one year or more. Those awaiting execution of a sentence of one year or more are also ineligible to vote. (Public Official Election Act, infra, art. 18) In Japan and Korea, individuals convicted of certain electoral and corruption offenses are barred from voting for several years after the completion of their sentence. (Korea: id.; Japan, Public Offices Election Act, infra, art. 11.) In Thailand, those who are detained by legal order and those who have been deprived of the right to vote, with or without a final sentence, cannot vote. (Organic Act on the Election of Members of the House of Representatives, infra, sec. 32.)
Even though outside the scope of the question, we were surprised to learn that in Thailand, the constitution does not give monks, novices, or clergy the right to vote. (Constitution, B.E. 2560, sec. 96.)
Question 3 – What is the method of voting in each country?
- Cambodia
- In the Cambodian national election, voters do not vote for an individual candidate, but for a party. (Law on the Election of Members of the National Assembly, art. 5.) The long-ruling Cambodian People’s Party has won landslide victories in elections since the 2003 general election. A voter places a single tick mark inside one of the square boxes next to their chosen political party on the ballot paper. (Id. art. 105.) Before exiting the ballot casting room, the voter must dip a finger in indelible purple ink and mark their name on the voter’s list to confirm that they have voted.
- Japan
- Voters must write the name of one candidate on the ballot. (Public Offices Election Act, Act No. 100 of 1950, as amended, art. 46, para. 1.) Some complain that writing the names of candidates is not easy for people with disabilities or injuries. Marking the name of the candidate of choice would be easier and reduce mistakes. However, this is not permitted in national elections. The Kobe Newspaper explains that when using the marking system, the names of all candidates must be written on the ballot, so the ballots cannot be printed until the candidates have been decided, which takes time to prepare.
- South Korea
- The election is conducted by marking a ballot. (Public Official Election Act, Act No. 20902, as amended April 1, 2025, art. 146, para. 1.) Marking is done by using a stamp that is placed in a box next to the candidate chosen by the voter. The stamps are prepared by the Election Commission. This stamp has an interesting history. In the 1940s and 1950s, voters had to bring objects to stamp their ballots, such as bullet casings or small bamboo sticks. Today, the stamp imprints “ト”. This character shape has an advantage that the marked candidate cannot be mistaken when an imprint is smeared. The ballot paper must be folded before being put in the box.
- Thailand
- Voting is done by marking a cross in the box beside the candidate’s number on the ballot paper. In cases where the eligible voters wish to vote for none of the candidates, they shall mark a cross in the checkbox for “not to vote for any candidate”. (Organic Act on the Election of Members of the House of Representatives B.E. 2561 (2018), § 91.) Please see the examples of acceptable and unacceptable crosses in the image at the top of this blog post.
- Vietnam
- Voters cross out the names of candidates they do not choose on their ballot. (Circular 01/2021/TT-BNV dated January 11, 2021, to guide the Voting Procedure for National Assembly’s Representatives term 2021-2026 based on Law on Voting for Representatives of National Assembly and People’s Council dated June 25, 2015, art. 10 para. 3.c, 3.d, 4b.)
What other interesting voting procedures have you encountered? What other countries would you like to hear about? Let us know in the comments.
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