Handy tips for election day

The Solidarity Research Institute (SRI) today, on the eve of this year's general elections, published various practical tips regarding the voting process for the general public. According to Eugene Brink, senior researcher at the SRI, these tips are aimed at providing the public with the necessary knowledge to avoid misunderstandings or obstacles that may arise during the process of voting.

‘Sometimes political parties' campaigns are so pervasive that the public forget about long queues and other practical aspects of voting, which may lead to unnecessary frustration. We therefore publish these tips to help the public cast their votes as efficiently as possible and with the least effort,' said Brink. These tips include:

Make sure you are registered to vote before going to the voting station. If you have never registered to vote, you cannot vote.

There are three ways to find out whether or not you are registered to vote and where you are registered to vote: (1) SMS your ID number to 32810 or phone 0800 11 8000 between 08:00 and 17:00 Monday to Friday; (2) visit the website of the Independent Electoral Commission (IEC), click on "for voters" and "my voter registration details" and enter your ID number in the space, after which your details will be displayed; or (3) use a mobile app that can be downloaded from the IEC's website.

Take your green, bar-coded South African ID book with you to the voting station. If you don't have one, a temporary identity certificate will do. You cannot vote if you don't have one of these documents.

In national and provincial elections you must preferably vote at the voting station where you are registered, but in terms of section 24 of the Electoral Act (No. 73 of 1998) you can vote at any voting station in the country. If, however, you vote at a voting station outside the province where you are registered, you can only cast a vote on the national ballot paper.

If your name does not appear on the voters' roll in question, hand your ID book to the presiding officer to check whether or not you are registered to vote. If you are registered, you must complete a VEC4 form in order to vote.

The polling officer must stamp both ballot papers - national and provincial - on the back.

In order to prevent confusion about the party you vote for, make your cross/mark carefully in the relevant box on the ballot paper.

Most people will go to the voting stations early. To avoid long queues, try going to the voting station between 10:00 and 12:00 or 13:30 and 16:00 when most people would have voted already.

There are rumours that the pens at the voting stations have disappearing ink. These rumours are totally unfounded. Nonetheless, if you are concerned about the rumours you can use your own pen to vote.

If you make a mistake on the ballot paper and you realise it before you place it in the ballot box, you can ask the presiding officer for a clean ballot paper. Make sure the incorrect ballot paper is marked "cancelled".

Once the ballot paper is inside the ballot box, it cannot be taken out.

Statement issued by Eugene Brink, Senior researcher: Solidarity Research Institute, May 6 2014

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