More than one million people have signed up to take part in special votes ahead of the elections taking place on Wednesday, May 29. Picture: Ayanda Ndamane/Independent Media
More than one million people have signed up to take part in special votes ahead of the elections taking place on Wednesday, May 29.
The Electoral Commission of South Africa (IEC) said around 1,668,076 South Africans have been approved for special votes, of these 624,593 voters will be visited by trained election officers at their homes or places of confinement.
The provincial breakdown of the special votes:
Gauteng — 335,480
KwaZulu-Natal — 320,010
Eastern Cape — 286,059
Limpopo — 159,800
Western Cape — 137,558
North-West — 132,627
Mpumalanga — 126,112
Free State — 86,908
Northern Cape — 83,504
This is what you need to know:
When you arrive at your voting station for your special vote, you will notice a double envelope system.
The Electoral Commission (IEC) explained that you must present either your smart card ID, your green barcoded ID or your temporary ID certificate.
Your thumb will be marked and you will receive a ballot paper or more than one ballot paper and you can vote in a voting booth.
After you vote, your ballot/s will be placed into an unmarked envelope and that is then inserted into a second envelope with will be labelled with your name, your ID number and voting district.
“An IEC official will place your envelope in a designated ballot box for special votes. The labelled envelope will be discarded before counting to maintain secrecy of your vote,” the IEC explained.
“Your name will be marked on the voter’s roll with the letters ‘SV’ to indicate a special vote.”
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