The Electoral Commission of South Africa (IEC) has announced that registered voters who are unable to cast their ballots on election day can apply for special votes during the upcoming municipal elections.

By law, registered voters qualify for a special vote if they cannot travel to their voting station due to physical infirmity or disability, allowing them to vote at home, or if they are unable to vote at their voting station on election day, permitting them to cast a special vote on specific days before general voting at their registered voting station.

The election date has been officially proclaimed as 4 November, and applications for special votes will open on 21 September. The commission has stated that the application period will close on 12 October. During this period, voters can apply online at elections.org.za, send an SMS to 32249 to complete the application on their phone, or download and complete the MEC35 form manually from the website or collect it from their local IEC office.

Manual applications must be hand-delivered to the local IEC office. The commission will send an SMS confirming whether the application has been approved. Applicants can check their status by sending an SMS to 32711 or visiting the website.

Applicants need to be registered voters and possess a green bar-coded identity document (ID) book, smartcard ID, or valid temporary identity certificate.

Special votes are cast one or two days before the election. The dates will be available on the website.

Voters approved for home visits will be visited by election officials at their home address, which must be within the voting district where they are registered. Those who cannot vote on election day but are not approved for home visits will vote at their registered voting station when special voting begins.

Voting procedure

Voters must hand their ID, temporary identity certificate or smartcard to the official, who will mark their name off the list of approved special voters. At voting stations, names will be marked off both the list and the voters’ roll with “SV” to indicate a special vote has been cast.

The voter’s thumbnail will be marked with indelible ink using a disposable cotton bud. They will receive two or three stamped ballot papers and envelopes to ensure secrecy.

After marking the ballots in secret, voters will place and seal them in the smaller unmarked envelope, which is then placed in the larger envelope marked with their name, ID number, and voting district number.

During home visits, election officials take the envelope and place it in a secure box file to prevent tampering. At voting stations, voters place the envelope with their ballots in the ballot box. All special votes will be counted with other votes during counting on election day.

Voters can check their registration status online at elections.org.za, send an SMS with their ID number to 32810, or contact the national contact centre on 0800 11 8000 during elections. The commission can also be reached via email at info@elections.org.za or through WhatsApp by sending “Hi” to 060 088 0000.

• The IEC is an independent, impartial institution established by Chapter 9 of the Constitution that manages national, provincial, and municipal elections.