EC Chair advocates E-Voting to curb rejected ballots in African elections

The Chairperson of Ghana’s Electoral Commission (EC), Jean Mensa, has urged African election management bodies to consider adopting electronic voting machines as a means of reducing the high incidence of invalid and rejected ballots in elections across the continent.

Speaking at the 9th Annual Continental Forum on Electoral Management Bodies (EMBs) of the Association of African Election Authorities (AAEA) in Accra on Wednesday, March 12, 2025, she described rejected ballots as a "subtle yet highly consequential form of voter disenfranchisement."

She proposed that a simplified e-voting system using Direct Recording Electronic (DRE) machines could help voters cast their ballots more accurately.

“In this ever-evolving era of technology, it is about time that we as a continent begin to consider more effective and efficient mechanisms for voters to cast their ballots,” she stated. “Perhaps a simplified e-voting system where voters only have to select on the screen the picture or party logo of their preferred candidate to lock their vote may be worth exploring.”

The annual forum, organised by the African Union in collaboration with the AAEA, serves as a platform for heads of election management bodies across Africa to share best practices in electoral administration. This year’s event was themed "All Votes Count: Addressing the Problem of Invalid or Rejected Ballots in Africa."

Mrs Mensa expressed concern over the disparities in invalid ballot rates across the continent, citing data from the International Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance (International IDEA).

She noted that The Gambia recorded an impressively low 0.02 percent of rejected ballots in recent elections, whereas Togo experienced an alarming 27.93 per cent.

Highlighting the impact of high rejected ballot rates, she warned that such figures could erode public trust in electoral processes and destabilise democratic governance.

In Ghana, she revealed, rejected ballots have consistently ranged between 1 per cent and 3 per cent of total votes cast since the country’s return to democratic rule in 1992.

Reflecting on Ghana’s efforts to address the issue, she noted that after the 2020 elections, the EC conducted a nationwide audit of rejected ballots. The findings revealed that many ballots were invalidated due to voter illiteracy, deliberate spoiling by dissatisfied voters, and inconsistencies in how electoral officers assessed ballot validity.

To tackle these challenges, the EC intensified training for electoral officers ahead of the 2024 elections, ensuring they properly assessed ballots without unnecessary invalidation. Additionally, public education campaigns were launched to guide voters on properly marking their ballots.

She reported that these interventions led to a slight reduction in rejected ballots from 2.33 per cent in 2020 to 2.03 per cent in 2024.

Jean Mensa urged electoral bodies across Africa to collaborate and adopt innovative solutions such as e-voting to enhance the integrity and efficiency of electoral processes on the continent.