Counting Votes in The Gambia

The Gambia has one of the most unique voting systems in the world. Instead of using the popular voting method of paper ballots, Gambians vote with marbles. Voters receive their issued marble at a polling station as a polling agent watches them enter a small, enclosed room. The voter proceeds to drop their marble into the candidate’s designated drum, and the marble hits a bicycle bell so the agent can be sure that no voter votes more than once. As the voter exits the station, a polling agent colors the voter’s index fingernail so no one can come back to the polls and vote twice.