The Votes that did not Count: Two Reasons Why Every Vote Must Count

23,666 The total number of invalid votes.

In the release of the final result of Liberia’s ended special senatorial elections, the National Elections Commission (NEC), the agency responsible for elections administration in Liberia reported that a whopping 23,666[i] votes were invalid. All 15 counties and all the voting precincts were impacted.

The objective of elections administration should be one in which no voter is disenfranchised because of mistakes that he or she makes in the casting of the votes that makes it difficult for the NEC to determine his or her voting intention.

The possibility that mistakes can be made by a voter during the process of voting is fully accounted for in the voting procedure. The NEC allots not more than 500 voters to each polling station. The NEC provides each polling station with 550 ballot papers, an excess of 50 ballots for each station. The purpose for the excess ballot is to allow, through a clearly defined procedure, for a voter to correct a mistake to avoid his or her ballot to be determined as invalid.

The instruction on the ballot was simple and clear. But it was also easier for a mistake to be made. Firstly it says write a (check) or an (x) mark in the box in front of the candidate of your choice. What if an overzealous voter writes an (x) in the box in front all other candidates and a check in front the candidate of his or her choice? Such a vote is in effect invalid, the intention is unclear. Then there is the situation of the non-literate population. Such persons must place an inked finger print in the box of the candidate of his or her choice. The ink must not spill across to other boxes, as this will make it difficult to determine the voter’s intention. On can see how easy it is for mistakes to be made.

Reason Number 1: The ‘Will of the People Argument’

Elections outcome must represent the true expression of the will of the people as guaranteed in international human rights instruments and Liberia’s Constitution. The case of the elections in Maryland County where 76 votes separated the winner from the second place candidate highlights this. The NEC reported a total of 960 invalid votes. It is easier to see how the voting outcome could have swung either way, if the true expression of the will of the 960 voters were known.

Reason Number 2: The ‘Risk of Discrimination argument’

It will be difficult to determine which population demography is more inclined to have an invalid vote. Yet it is possible factors such as gender, education, (dis)ability may account for invalid voting tendencies. If this becomes that case, then the risk exist that population groups could systematically be denied of their voting rights in violation of Liberia’s Constitution and its international legal obligations against all forms of discrimination.

A treasure trove exists wherein the problem can and should be fixed. A starting point will be to analyze all the invalid voters to determine the pattern, in terms of the dominant mistakes that are made. This information can be used for massive popular job education on voting, including the organization of mock voting sessions and processes, well ahead of any elections.















Charles Lawrence lives and works in Liberia.

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[i] The writer added the total number of invalid votes for each of Liberia’s fifteen counties as documented in the National Elections Commission Final Result Report for the Special Senatorial Election 20 December 2014 as of December 27 2 pm.