Section 74, The Public Elections Act, 2012

(1) The voting at an election shall be conducted in thefollowing manner:– (a) every voter desiring to record his vote shall present himself to the Presiding Officer or a Polling Assistant at the polling station at which he is entitled to vote and the Presiding Officer or Polling Assistant, after satisfying himself that– (i) the name of the voter appears in the copy of the Register of Voters, or part of the register of voters provided for that polling station and that the voter is the same person whose picture, if any, is on the voter registration card presented by the voter; and (ii) the voter has not already voted having regard to subparagraph (ii) of paragraph (b); the Presiding Officer or Polling Assistant shall deliver to him a ballot paper; but where a number of public elections are held on the same day the ballot papers shall be differentiated by such colours as the Electoral Commission shall determine and shall be cast separately for each election held on the day in question; Precautions to ensure secrecy. Hours of voting. Manner of voting. (b) immediately before the Presiding Officer or Polling Assistant delivers a ballot paper to a voter, he shall– (i) call out the voter’s serial ward number and his name and address as stated in the Register of Voters and examine the voter’s registration card issued by the Electoral Commission and mark the card in the manner prescribed by the Electoral Commission; (ii) examine the voter’s left hand for traces of the ink (if any) referred to in paragraph (e), and if he is satisfied that there are such traces he shall not deliver any ballot paper to that voter; (iii) mark the ballot paper or papers with an official mark which may be prescribed by the Electoral Commission; (iv) place a mark against the number of the copy of the Register of Voters to denote that a ballot paper or papers have been delivered; (c) a Polling Assistant may, and, if required by a polling agent, shall put to any persons applying for a ballot paper or papers at the time of his application, but not afterwards, the following questions or any of them:– (i) “Are you the person whose name is on the Register of Voters as (reading the entry in the Register)”; (ii) “Have you already voted at the present election at this or any other polling station?”; (d) no person who is required by the Polling Assistant to answer these questions, or either of them, shall be provided with a ballot paper or be allowed to vote until he has answered the question or questions to the satisfaction of the Presiding Officer; (e) every voter shall, immediately before receiving a ballot paper, submit to having his left thumb or a finger of the left hand, or right hand if an elector suffers from physical defect, marked with indelible ink; but this paragraph shall not apply in the case of a voter who suffers from a physical defect which in the opinion of the Presiding Officer, makes this application impractical; (f) the voter shall then go alone to the booth or enclosure which shall be placed in open view of the public but in a manner which will conceal the identity of the candidate he voted for, put his mark against the symbol of the candidate or as the case may be, the party of his choice secretly, and then come out of the booth or enclosure with his ballot paper folded which he will then cast in full view of everyone present; (g) if a voter– (i) spoils any ballot paper inadvertently; (ii) mistakenly marks a ballot paper for a candidate who is not of his choice; the voter shall return the ballot paper to the Presiding Officer, who shall, if he is satisfied that the circumstances described in subparagraphs (i) and (ii) have occurred, provide the voter with another ballot paper and the Presiding Officer shall write the word “CANCELLED” across the face of the spoilt ballot paper which shall be kept separately and shall be delivered to the Returning Officer as provided by this Act; 38 39 (h) if a voter places any writing or mark on the ballot paper by which he may be identified, the Presiding Officer shall write the word “CANCELLED” across the face of the ballot paper which shall be kept separately and shall be delivered to the Returning Officer as provided in this Act; and (i) a voter who is unable to read or who is incapacitated by blindness or any other physical disability and is unable to cast his vote in the manner prescribed in this Act, shall apply in person to the Presiding Officer, who shall– (i) in the case of a voter who is physically disabled, allow the voter to be accompanied by another voter of his own choice, who shall guarantee the faithful expression of the vote of the disabled person and who shall pledge absolute secrecy; (ii) in the case of a voter who is unable to read or write and cannot draw a cross, inform the voter that he can vote by putting a fingerprint mark in the square corresponding to the candidate for whom he wishes to vote after dipping his finger in the ink which shall be placed for this purpose in the voting booth. (2) Notwithstanding subparagraph (i) of paragraph (a) of subsection (1), a voter who is likely to be unable to go in person to the polling station at which he is entitled to vote by reason of– (a) being on official duties in connection with the election; or (b) being a public officer or employee of a public corporation or commercial firm or mining company or member of the Sierra Leone Police Force or the Armed Forces of the Republic of Sierra Leone who is transferred by his employer or supervisor to a place of employment in a ward other than the one in which he is registered, may, not later than fifteen days before the day appointed for voting, make an application to the Returning Officer of his electoral area for a certificate of authorisation in a form approved by the Electoral Commission to authorise a Presiding Officer in a polling station other than the one at which the applicant is entitled to vote, to permit him to cast his vote in that polling station. (3) Before issuing a certificate of authorisation under subsection (2), the Returning Officer shall satisfy himself that the application is well founded and supported by the written confirmation of the employer or supervisor of the applicant and shall delete the applicant’s name from the Register of Voters of the polling station at which he is entitled to vote and initial the deletion. (4) A voter who has been issued with a certificate of authorisation referred to in subsection (2) shall present the certificate of authorisation to a Presiding Officer of a polling station other than the polling station at which he is entitled to vote and the Presiding Officer after satisfying himself as to the authenticity of the certificate of authorisation, shall permit the voter to vote in accordance with the directions contained therein. (5) A person who makes a false answer to any of the questions prescribed in paragraph (c) of subsection (1) which he knows to be false or does not believe to be true, commits an offence and is liable, on summary conviction, to a fine not less than five million leones or to imprisonment for a term of two years.