When:
Friday, 10 June 2016 8:00 AM
-
Friday, 08 July 2016 5:00 PM
June 10 will see the opening of applications for voters to cast special votes in
the 2016 Municipal Elections which for the first time ever will be available online
and via SMS.
Special
votes are available all registered voters including the disabled, infirm and
pregnant voters as well as members of the security forces, election officials,
the media and any other voters who are unable to visit their voting station on
Election Day 3 August 2016.
There
are two forms of special votes:
- Home
visits: This is where election officials visit voters at their place of
residence to allow them to cast their ballots. Home visits are only available
to voters who are disabled, infirm or pregnant
- Special
voting at your voting station: Available to registered voters who are unable to
vote on 3 August
Special
voting days for the 2016 Municipal Elections are 1 and 2 August 2016 between
08h00 and 17h00 (unlike voting hours on Election Day which are 07H00 to 19H00).
Special
votes may only be cast by voters who have applied for and received approval
from the Electoral Commission to cast a special vote. Applications open at
08h00 on Friday 10 June 2016 and close at 17h00 on Friday 8 July 2016.
For
the first time applications for special votes will be available online via the
Electoral Commission’s website
www.elections.org.za and via cellphone by SMSing the
voter’s ID number to 32249 (SMS charged at R1).
The
SMS application facility is only available for those applying to cast a special
vote at their voting station and NOT for home visits.
Once
their application has been processed, voters will receive a notification via
email or SMS of whether their application for a special vote was successful or
not. They can also check the status of their special vote application online at
www.elections.org.za
The
traditional method of applying for a special vote at local IEC offices by
submitting a MEC35 form is also still available. Forms must be hand-delivered
but can be delivered on behalf of a voter by someone else.