You may need to re-register for next year’s elections- here’s why

The Electoral Commission has finished revising voting district boundaries for next year’s elections, warning the changes will lead to many having to re-register.

This process has resulted in 23,296 voting districts for the 2024 Elections, compared to 23,148 during the 2021 Municipal Elections, an increase of 148 voting districts, or 0.6%.

According to Chief Electoral Officer Sy Mamabolo, the increase will bring more access and convenience for voters.

The commission has begun a campaign aimed at voters affected by the voting district boundary changes, kicking off this week and running through the month.

This will include fieldworkers knocking on doors and messages to those affected. Where a person is not home, fieldworkers will leave a flyer explaining the new voting district and station, the national registration weekend dates, and how to re-register online.

Here are some of your questions answered:

What is a voting district

By law, eligible voters must be registered in the voting district where they usually reside to participate in elections.

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A voting district is the area used for election planning and administration. It is essential to prevent electoral fraud, where registered voters vote multiple times in an election, and to streamline election administration. 

Every voting district is linked to a single voting station, and a voter can only register and cast their vote in the district they reside in. Once registered, the voter’s name appears on the voters’ roll for that particular voting district, which minimizes the possibility of voting fraud.

How you will know if your voting district has changed

If you want to know whether your voting district has changed, you can check your voter registration status online here.

All your registration details, including your voting district and station, will be displayed.

If you have moved to a new home, you’re most likely in a different voting district. To find out, you can use the online voting station finder and search for your street name or suburb.

If your voting district has changed, you need to re-register in your new district online here, or visit your nearest voting station on the weekend of 18-19 November, between 8 am and 5 pm on both days.

How many districts are affected?

Mamabolo said 1,925 voting districts are affected, with the majority being in KwaZulu-Natal (774), the Eastern Cape (332), Limpopo province (296), Mpumalanga (122), Western Cape (84), North -West (56), Free State (38), and Northern Cape (9).

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