[165] Neither the Kenyan Constitution nor the Elections Act define the term “vote.” The Elections Act, however, defines the term “voter” to mean “a person whose name is included in a current register of voters.” Black’s Law Dictionary defines a ‘vote’ as “the expression of one’s preference or option in a meeting or election by ballot, show of hands or other type of communication.” The Dictionary of Modern Legal Usage81 defines the term as an “[o]pinion expressed, resolution or decision carried, by voting.” [166] From these definitions, particularly the one in the Black’s Law Dictionary referring to a vote as “the expression of one’s preference or option”, the distinction between a ballot paper and a vote is clearly discernible. A ballot paper is the instrument in which a voter records his choice, while a vote is the actual choice made by a voter. A ballot paper does not become a vote by merely being inserted into the ballot box, as it may later turn out to be rejected. Such an interpretation can also be deduced from the wording of Regulations 69(2) and 70 of the Elections (General) Regulations, 2012 which provides: “69(2) A voter shall, in a multiple election, be issued with the ballot papers for all elections therein at the same time and shall after receiving the ballot papers── (a) Cast his or her votes in accordance with regulation 70 without undue delay.” On the other hand, Regulation 70 provides: “(1) A voter shall, upon receiving a ballot paper under Regulation 69(2)── 81 2nd Edition, by Garner Bryan A.   Presidential  Petition  No.  1  of  2017                                                                                                                                                                                                            67  |  P a g e    

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