As voting day approaches, here are some crucial things you need to know

07 May 2019 - 07:00 By ZINGISA MVUMVU
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Voters must take their identity document to their voting station on Wednesday and check the back of the ballot papers for the official stamp.
Voters must take their identity document to their voting station on Wednesday and check the back of the ballot papers for the official stamp.
Image: 123RF/niyazz

Missed out on registration weekends earlier this year and last year, but you've voted before? Do not stress about it, you can still go to a polling station on Wednesday and cast your vote.

However, if you have not updated your residential address it may be a longer process for you than for others.

"Everybody who is on the voters' roll will be entitled to vote. Those who have voted before but did not register in January, their names are still on the voters' roll," Electoral Commission (IEC) chief electoral officer Sy Mamabolo.

"But those who do not have their residential address on the voters' roll will have to furnish a residential address at the polling station before they vote."

Those in a different province to that in which they are registered also need not worry, said Mamabolo.

"If the address locates you in the province in which you are registered, you will get two ballots - national and provincial - but if you are in a province outside your ordinary residence address, you will get one ballot - for national," said Mamabolo.

Oh, and it is possible that your vote won't count even if you go to the polling station and make your mark. This is if you miss one very crucial verification before slotting your ballot paper into the ballot box - the official stamps.

Said Mamabolo: "As part of the control measures of the election process, every ballot paper has to have a validation stamp at the back. If there is no validation stamp at the back, it means that ballot paper will not be counted."

But most importantly, you cannot afford to forget your identity document as you will not be allowed to vote without it - even if you appear on the voters' roll.

With SA elections around the corner, make sure that you are registered and ready. Unsure about some things? Here are some of the most-asked questions answered by Business Times reporter Mudiwa Gavaza!


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