voteMe.livevoteMe.live homevoteMe.livevoteMe.live homeEverything you need to know about voting by USSD — how it works, which networks support it, and how organizers can maximise participation from feature phone users.
voteMe.live Team
Ghana has some of the highest mobile penetration rates in West Africa, but a significant share of those phones are basic feature phones without data plans. USSD — Unstructured Supplementary Service Data — bridges that gap. Any phone that can make calls can use USSD. No app. No data. No WhatsApp.
voteMe.live supports USSD voting and ticketing for events running on our platform. Here is everything you need to know.
USSD voting on voteMe.live is available for paid voting events only. You cannot vote via USSD in free (hot) events or election-style events — those run on different authentication models that require email-based credentials.
To vote:
The entire flow takes under two minutes on any network: MTN, Telecel, or AirtelTigo.
Every contestant in a paid voting event is assigned a unique 4-letter alphabetical short code. This code is generated automatically by the platform — organizers never create it manually, and voters never have to remember a number or a URL. The short code is case-insensitive and unique within the event.
Election-style and free voting contestants do not have short codes. The short code system is exclusive to paid voting events and exists specifically to enable USSD.
The short code needs to be visible wherever your voters are. That means:
Not every voter knows their network name. Make it easy: "Use your MTN Mobile Money, Telecel Cash, or AirtelTigo Money balance to vote."
Mobile Money transactions require the voter to have balance. Votes that fail because of insufficient balance do not count and are not charged. If a fan is having trouble, ask them to top up and try again.
Always test the USSD flow on your own phone before opening voting. Dial the code yourself, vote for a test contestant, confirm the payment. Catch any issues when you are in control, not during the live event.
Can one person vote multiple times via USSD? Yes. There is no cap on paid votes. A voter can dial the USSD code and vote as many times as they have Mobile Money balance. This is the same behaviour as web-based paid voting.
Does USSD work during load shedding? Feature phones work on battery power and the USSD protocol runs on the cellular network itself, not the internet. As long as your voter has cellular signal, they can vote during a power outage.
What happens if the USSD session times out? USSD sessions expire after approximately 3 minutes of inactivity. If a session times out before the voter enters their PIN, they have not been charged. They simply start the flow again.
Can I buy tickets via USSD? Yes. voteMe.live's USSD flow supports both paid voting and ticket purchase. Voters dial the same event USSD number and select whether they want to vote or buy a ticket from the menu.
React to this article
Was this article helpful?
Your feedback helps us write better content for Ghana's event organizers.