APPLICATIONS for voters to cast special votes in the municipal elections opened on Friday, 10 June, which for the first time prospective voters can apply online and via SMS.
Special votes are available to all registered voters, including the disabled, infirm and pregnant voters, as well as members of the security forces, election officials, media and others who will be unable to visit voting stations on election day on 3 August.
There are two forms of special votes:
- Home visits where election officials visit voters at their place of residence to allow them to cast their ballots. Home visits are only available to voters who are disabled, infirm or pregnant and/or their caregiver who is also unable to leave their charges to cast their vote.
- Special voting at your voting station, which is available to registered voters who are unable to cast their vote on 3 August.
Special voting days for the elections are on 1 and 2 August between 8am and 5pm, unlike normal voting hours on election day which is from 7am to 7pm.
Special votes may only be cast by voters who have applied for and received approval from the Electoral Commission to cast a special vote. Applications close at 5pm on Friday, 8 July.
For the first time, applications for special votes are available online via the website www.elections.org.za and via cellphone by SMSing the voter’s ID number to 32249 (SMS cost R1).
The SMS application facility is only available for those applying to cast a special vote at their voting station and not for home visits.
“Once the application has been processed, voters will receive a notification via email or SMS to inform them whether their application for a special vote was successful or not. They can also check the status of their special vote application online at www.elections.org.za,” said ward 97 councillor, Andre Beetge.
“The traditional method of applying for a special vote at local IEC offices by submitting a MEC 35 form is also still available. Forms must be hand-delivered but can be delivered on behalf of a voter by someone else.
The process for casting a special vote is the same as a normal vote, with the exception that the completed ballot papers are sealed in an unmarked envelope which is then marked with the voter’s name, ID number and voting district number. IEC officials will place the envelope in a secure ballot box for special votes and the voter’s name is marked off the voters’ roll with ‘SV’ to indicate a special vote.
Once voting on election day has ended, the outer envelopes of the special votes are discarded and the ballot papers are removed from the unmarked inner envelope and counted as part of the counting process for all ballots.”
For more information, call Cllr Beetge on 082-718-8137.
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