Students of the Ashanti-Region-based Obuasi Senior High Technical School (SHTS) have developed a ground-breaking ballot box for elections that is capable of instantly detecting multiple voting.
According to the online-based educational news platform, Educationweb, thre ballot box displays the total number of ballot papers in the box and also prevents eligible voters from voting twice.
The Head of the Robotics Club Mr. Solomon Nchor in a blog post said he believes the project will solve challenges associated with voting processes in Ghana and the world generally.
The box contains a small computerised compartment to count ballots and detect multiple voting and a second larger compartment that holds the ballot like the traditional ballot box.
The paper compartment has a paper roller made with some PVC pipes, a gear motor, and a sensor to detect the voter’s closeness to the box. The paper compartment (rollers) is adjusted to take one paper at a time
According to the student developers who are part of the robotics team of the schools, when the voter is about 40cm to the ballot box, the paper compartment is activated to allow the voter to cast his ballot. A red light is shown to alert the voter that the system is ready
When the voter places the paper on the space provided, the system will automatically take the paper from the voter and drop it into the box and count it as one (1) and display the number on a screen for public viewing. Subsequent votes will be counted and total votes displayed on the screen, the team explained.