Disabled‚ infirm and pregnant voters‚ and those who can’t make it to a voting station‚ can apply from Friday for special votes.
This year marks the first time these applications will be available online – at www.elections.org.za - or by “SMSing the voter’s ID number to 32249 (SMS charged at R1)‚ the Independent Electoral Commission (IEC) said.
“The SMS application facility is only available for those applying to cast a special vote at their voting station and NOT for home visits‚” the IEC stressed.
This home visit special vote sees election officials calling on voters who are “disabled‚ infirm or pregnant…at their place of residence to allow them to cast their ballots”.
The other type of special vote – aimed at “security forces‚ election officials‚ the media and any other voters who are unable to visit their voting station” on August 3 – will special voting days on August 1 and 2‚ at voting stations‚ which will be open between 8am and 5pm.
On Election Day‚ voting hours are 7am to 7pm‚ the IEC noted.
“Once their application has been processed‚ voters will receive a notification via email or SMS of 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‚” the commission said.
“The traditional method of applying for a special vote at local IEC offices by submitting a MEC35 form is also still available. Forms must be hand-delivered but can be delivered on behalf of a voter by someone else.”
The IEC said the processes for special and normal votes are the same “with the exception that the completed ballot papers are sealed in an unmarked envelop which is then marked with the voter’s name‚ ID number and voting district number”.
“IEC officials take the envelope and place it 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 then counted as part of the counting process for all ballots.”
The closing date for applications is July 8. – TMG Digital
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