Before you leave home
- Carry the same original ID card or passport you used to register. A photocopy or a waiting card will not do.
- Know your polling centre. Look it up on Chagua or with the IEBC before the day, not in the queue.
- Know your six races and who is running in each, so you can vote quickly and with confidence.
At the polling station
- Join the queue for your stream. Clerks will help you find the right one.
- A clerk checks your identity against the register, usually with the electronic voter identification kit.
- You receive six ballot papers: President, Governor, Senator, Woman Representative, Member of Parliament and MCA.
- Mark each paper alone, in the voting booth. Your vote is secret: nobody may watch you or ask how you voted.
- Fold each paper and drop it in the box of the same colour.
- A clerk marks your finger with ink so nobody can vote twice. Then you are done.
If you need help to vote
Voters with a disability, or who cannot read, can ask for help in marking the ballot. The Constitution gives persons with disabilities a right to reasonable access and to appropriate means of communication. Tell the presiding officer what you need.
After voting closes
Votes are counted at the station in front of agents and observers, and the results for each race are written on official forms and posted outside. Results then move to the constituency, county and national tallying centres. You can compare a station's posted form with what is announced later.
If something goes wrong
- Your name is missing: ask the presiding officer to check the register again, and check with the IEBC.
- Someone tries to buy your vote or threatens you: do not engage, move away, and report it to the police or the IEBC.
- You see rumours about the results: check them before you share. See "Check a claim before you share it".