Applications for special votes remain open until Monday, 12 October. The process is intended to ensure that people who cannot vote at their registered voting stations on election day, 4 November, are still able to exercise their right to vote in the local government elections.

The IEC says the process caters for voters who are physically unable to reach a voting station, as well as those who will be away from their registered voting districts on Election Day. Different arrangements apply depending on why a voter requires a special vote.

The first category is a home-visit special vote for people who cannot physically access a voting station because of their condition. If the application is approved, an election official will visit the voter at the place where they are confined, which must be within the voting district in which they are registered.

The second category applies to voters who are physically able to reach their voting station but will not be able to vote there on Election Day. If their applications are approved, they will cast their ballots at their registered voting station during the two days preceding the election.

Meanwhile, the department of home affairs is urging voters to replace lost, stolen, or damaged identity documents before the election rush. More than 450 participating bank branches, together with Home Affairs offices, are available to help South Africans apply for and collect Smart ID cards.

More than 341,000 Smart ID cards remain uncollected, with some having been waiting for collection for almost a decade. South Africans should collect their cards to ensure they have the necessary identification documents available when they vote, home affairs deputy director-general for operations Thulani Mavuso said.

“We want to request South Africans to come forward and collect their Smart ID cards. We believe that if people collect their Smart ID cards, we should not have a number of people without the necessary documents for the purposes of voting,” he said.

Since the start of the Smart ID card programme, Home Affairs has issued 34-million cards. Of these, 25-million were reissues, while 9.7-million were new Smart ID cards issued to young people who are eligible to vote, Mavuso said.

“The introduction of the banks has increased our footprint and given us the ability to have several sites where people can apply for and collect their Smart ID cards. From March until the second week of September, the participating banks have issued about 700,000 Smart ID cards, so the footprint is quite huge,” he said.

Applications for special votes can be submitted through the IEC website. Eligible voters can also visit their local IEC office and complete a Special Vote Application form before the 12 October deadline.

OFM News/Zenande Mpame sm

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