The unfortunate truth about elections in many African nations is that—when they happen—they’re often corrupted or rigged. But technology is starting to change that. In Nigeria, a new system has been set in place that is removing much of the paperwork out of elections in order to avoid corruption. How it works is voters show up at polling units with their permanent voter cards and have them scanned by card readers. Once scanner verifies the voter, he or she can cast their ballot. The two-step authentication eliminates the dual problems of impersonation and multiple voting—previously rampant rigging tactics. It’s a major shift from the past when only paperwork (which could easily be faked) was enough to allow voters cast a ballot.
New technology is making it way harder to rig elections in Nigeria
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