Ted Audio Collective.

When I lived in Ghana, the year after graduating from college, I knew when it was Election Day, because at that time people voted using their

thumbprints.

They would put their thumb on a purple ink pad, then mark their preferred candidate

on the paper ballot.

Stained fingers were the equivalent of the I voted sticker

you get after voting here in the US.

And it was a communal way to show everyone that you had exercised your right to vote.

It was a really visible way of showing pride around participation in elections.

If you live in the United States, you know that 2024 is a national election year.

In fact, it's a major election year globally.

At least 64 countries are holding elections. This is a really big

year for democracy and let me tell you I want to see purple thumbs or I voted stickers everywhere I go. We need people to show up at the polls and weigh in on issues that matter to them.

So what strategies can we enact to inspire a high level of participation?

I'm Madupak-Anola. This is Ted Business. Our speaker today is Linde Mazzie Bucco.

She's a former parliamentary leader in South Africa and was first elected when she was still in her 20s.

She has an important message for future leaders across the globe on how to combat

voters growing disillusionment with the democratic process.

Then after the talk, I'll share my hopes for the coming year.

But first, a quick break. I was 14 years old in 1994 when my country South Africa held its historic first democratic elections.

I can vividly remember my mother taking me with her to the voting station which was near the clinic where she

worked and where she would cast her vote for the very first time in a general

...