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ABSTRACT
The Location and ease of access to polling units have been major problems in Nigeria over the years. The direct impact of this is a decline in voter turnout. Although, several indicators contribute to low voter turnout, this study focused on two key indicators; location and accessibility. The research attempted to analyze the spatial distribution of polling units in the study area, evaluated the effect of distance on voter turnout, examined the change in voting population and identified underserved settlements in the study area. Several attempts at solving the problem of proximity and accessibility to polling units have been futile and previous studies on related topics have relied mainly on limited data because information about polling units and their locations is scarce. The methodology applied included the use of questionnaires to elicit information from eligible voters and the use of regression analysis to test the relationship between distance to polling units and its effect on voter turnout. Nearest neighbor analysis to study the pattern of distribution of polling units, buffer analysis to show the relationship of the distance between polling units and voters’ locations in the study area. The key findings include a significant change in voting population, the negative effect of distance of polling units on decisions to take part in the electoral process, identification of underserved settlements, and preferred locations for new polling units as chosen by eligible voters randomly sampled from the study area. The research therefore recommends that GIS technology be employed to aid polling unit creation and proper identification of underserved settlements be carried out to meet the electoral needs of underserved settlements.
