VOTING
Why should I vote?
Who can vote?
What do I need
to do once I have registered?
When is the Election date?
Where do I vote?
What happens at the voting station?
Special Voting
Why should I vote?
It is our responsibility to contribute to democracy by voting!
Your vote does make a difference. The party you support
requires a certain number of votes to get a seat in Parliament and the Provincial
Legislature. Your ONE vote will make a difference.
Who can vote?
To vote in the upcoming 2009 National and Provincial
Elections, you must be a registered voter in the voting district
where you live. See How to register for details on registering as a voter.
You must also be in possession of a green, bar-coded,
South African citizenship identity document or a valid temporary identity certificate.
What do I need to do once I have registered?
After you have applied for registration you
should verify that your details are correct on the National Common
Voters’ Roll. There is only one voters’ roll. If you have registered before,
and did not move from your address, you don’t need to re-register,
just verify that your details are correct.
To verify your details, you can:
- Go to our Am I registered? page;
- Phone the public toll free number from a landline on 0800 11 8000;
- SMS your ID number to 32810, SMS cost R1;
- Visit your correct voting station in the voting district where you live during the specified registration weekends; or
- Visit your Municipal Electoral Office at the municipality.
When is the Election date?
The Election date will be announced by the President
of the Republic of South Africa. The Electoral Commission is not responsible
for setting the date of the Election.
Where do I vote?
You should vote at the voting station in the voting
district where you have registered to vote. Note that voting stations may
change due to availability of venues. You can confirm your voting station by
contacting us as mentioned above.
If you find that you are not at your voting station on
voting day, you will still be able to vote. This is conditional.
It is called a Section 24A vote. Section 24A vote allows you to cast
your votes outside of the voting district where you have registered. Please
note that if the place where you are voting is outside of the province in the
voting district in which you are registered, you will only receive a ballot for the National Assembly.
You must have proof of registration (sticker) in your ID as your name
will not appear on the segment of the voters’ roll of that voting district.
Once the staff are satisfied that you are registered you will be requested to complete a VEC 4 form.
What happens at the voting station?
When you arrive at the voting station in the voting district where you have registered, the electoral staff will:
| 1) | check your ID and hands to ensure there is no ink on your fingers; |
| 2) | verify if the photo in your green bar-coded ID looks like you and verify that you are registered; |
| 3) | cross your name from the segment of the voters’ roll; |
| 4) | mark your left thumb with indelible ink; |
| 5) | issue two ballot papers i.e. national and provincial ballot papers; |
| 6) | direct you to a voting booth to cast your votes. |
Once you have marked the ballot papers you must place your ballots in the ballot box.
Special Voting
For the upcoming National and Provincial Elections, the Electoral Act of
1998 makes provision for certain categories of voters that will not be at
their voting station in the voting district in which they are registered on
Election Day, to cast their vote on day(s) prior to the election date.
For more info, see Special Voting.
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