A total of 774 094 voters have been granted permission to cast special votes on Monday, 6 May and Tuesday, 7 May, the Independent Electoral Commission of South Africa (IEC) said.
According to Kate Bapela, IEC spokesperson, this is almost double the number of special voters in 2014 (393 516) and is close to the number of special voters in 2009 (743 609).
Kate said of those whose applications for a special vote in 2019 were approved, 452 418 (58,4 per cent) will cast their votes during a home visit by election officials accompanied by party agents and observers. Voters granted permission for home visits are only those who cannot visit a voting station due to physical infirmity, disability and pregnancy. The remaining 321 676 voters (41,6 per cent) will cast their special votes at their voting station between 9am and 5pm.
Of the total applications approved:
• 440 863 were submitted manually (57 per cent)
• 197 133 were submitted online (25 per cent)
• 136 098 were submitted via SMS (18 per cent)
She added that the province with the highest number of home visits is the Eastern Cape (85 252) and the province with the highest number of voting station visits is Gauteng (71 921).
Kate further explained, “The special voting process involves using a double envelope system in which the marked ballot of the voter is placed in an unmarked envelope which is then placed inside a second envelope which contains the voters’ ID. The outer envelope is used to ensure an accurate register and verification of special votes – and is removed when the envelope is opened at the close of voting on Election Day, 8 May. Once it’s removed from the larger envelope, the inner envelope is placed in a ballot box to ensure secrecy of vote and de-link the marked ballot from the details of the voter on the outer envelope.
“Special votes are transported and stored securely overnight at municipal warehouses and other secure locations including local police stations on Monday, 6 and Tuesday, 7 May before being transported back to the voting station on Election Day for inclusion in the count. The overnight security facilities are vetted by the State Security Agency to ensure adequate security arrangements.
“Voters who applied for a special vote can check the status of their applications on the website at https://www.elections.org.za/IECOnline/Check-My-Special-Vote-Application-Status or SMS their ID numbers to 32711 (charged at R1).”
