Most South Africans will have to vote at their registered voting station come election day, but pre-arranged changes and special votes are still applicable.
With the 2024 Election Day drawing ever closer, it is important to know where you can and cannot cast your vote.
Where you can and cannot vote for the upcoming 2024 election
The 2024 National Election is getting close, and millions of voters all across the country are getting their affairs in order to cast their votes on 29 May.
By law, all South African residents must register to vote where they reside and cast their votes at the voting station at which they are registered. But with the new regulations imposed by the Electoral Amendment Act, Section 24A, there are a few exceptions to this rule.
How to check your voter registration status
It has now been almost four years since South Africans last stormed the polls to cast their vote on Election Day. A lot has changed since this last election, and, in all likelihood, so has the voting station that you are registered to vote at.
If you want to check you voter registration status (which will include the specific voting station that you are registered to vote at in the upcoming election), you can visit the IEC’s online voter registration portal.
Alternatively, you can send an SMS with your South African ID number to 32810 (you will be charged R1.00 per SMS).
Voting outside of your registered voting station
In most cases, you will need to visit the voting station that you are registered to vote at in order to cast your vote on Election Day. But you can still arrange to cast your vote somewhere else.
If you are outside of your voting district on voting day, you will be able to vote at another voting station on Election Day – only if you have notified the IEC of this anomaly between 15 March and 17 May 2024.
To do this, you must complete the Section 24A form (before 17 May 2024) and the VEC 4 form (on voting day), to cast your vote.
Special Votes
Special Votes allow registered voters who cannot vote at their voting stations to vote on a predetermined day, prior to Election Day. However, there are certain requirements to register as a special voter.
You can only apply for a special vote if you are already a registered voter with a valid South African identity document.
Special voters need to confirm that they cannot travel to their voting station on Election Day because of physical infirmity, disability or pregnancy.
You can register as a special voter through the IEC’s online portal, or by visiting your local IEC office.
