#IMadeMyMark: Report problems with your ballot before it goes into the ballot box
While some hoax messages sow mistrust in the minds of voters, one voter says it can help voters who trust, on the whole, those running the elections.
PEOPLE make mistakes. However, a mistake on election day could mean your vote is unintentionally spoiled and declared null and void.
A message being forwarded on WhatsApp groups on Tuesday morning hinted that some staff at polling stations were not stamping the ballots before issuing them to voters who had arrived at the stations to cast their special votes.
“Just to let everybody know we went to cast our special votes today and by chance, both my husband and myself noticed that the ballot papers weren’t stamped on the reverse side. We approached them and they then stamped them. Without the stamp, they won’t count at all! So please be vigilant when you vote on Wednesday,” said the message being shared repeatedly on community groups.
The Highway Mail has attempted to verify the report and contact the originator of the message to no avail, so at present, the incident remains unverified and seems to have originated in Gauteng where it has been doing the rounds since early yesterday.
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However, the type of situation described by the message is a perfect example of what needs to be reported immediately to electoral officers at polling stations if they happen.
“If there are problems at the voting station and voters notice it, they can report it to the presiding officer who can ensure it is dealt with,” said IEC Commissioner, Dr Nomsa Masuku at a training event for the media last month. “Once the ballot paper is in the ballot box, it is too late, so people who have worries about something need to speak up before then.”
Among the messages doing the rounds warning people about voting irregularities is also the one which has been shared in the past about voters being given pencils instead of pens to make their cross.
“I received a warning people to be aware that pencils had been issued instead of black pens. Pencils obviously are erasable. Again just a forward. While I don’t know how valid these messages are I believe that in today’s political climate, anything is possible and sharing the messages can only serve as a warning to be alert,” said one Queensburgh resident, Jackie Schutte.
Schutte said that while she understood that there may be underlying motives behind the spread of messages to try to sow mistrust in the minds of voters, in her opinion, the messages only serve to help voters who, on the whole, trust those running the elections and understand that mistakes can happen.
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She said in all the elections she had participated in previously, she had never thought to check for a stamp, but would now be aware of this aspect of the process. “The odds are the messages are hoaxes, but in this case serve well as a warning to voters,” she explained.
“We often don’t know or think about things like this as we trust those managing the voting stations to be honest,” she said. “I, after having voted many times, would not have thought to check for a stamp. But you can be sure all my family will do so tomorrow.”
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