During Nigeria’s presidential and National Assembly elections on 25 February 2023, 83 per cent of polling units visited by African Union observers opened late, on average by more than an hour and in some cases not until 11 a.m. Official voting hours were 8:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m., but people already in line at closing were allowed to vote, extending polling by hours. Queues were well controlled at 81 per cent of observed units, yet voter allocation ranged from one person to 3,000. BVAS biometric devices worked successfully in 94 per cent, but too few machines for large electorates lengthened waits. Here the queue preserved a right: remaining inside it at the deadline functioned as evidence that a voter had arrived in time.