Last chance to register to vote
Who can register as a voter?
• You must be a South African citizen.
• You must have a South African green bar-coded identity document (ID), a smartcard ID or a temporary ID certificate.
• You must be 16 years or older (but you will only be able to vote when you are 18 years or older).
• You have to register in person. Nobody can do it for you.
REMEMBER: If you do not have your green bar-coded ID book or a smartcard ID, you need to apply for one at the Department of Home Affairs. It takes at least four weeks.
Once you have registered to vote, you do not need to re-register to vote in future elections.
You will only need to re-register if:
• You have moved house and are living in a different voting district.
• You have been affected by the re-drawing of the voting district and/or ward boundaries.
Why should you register?
• If you don’t register, you cannot vote. And if you don’t vote, you are giving up a very important way of making your voice heard.
• It is your right and civic duty to choose your public representatives. So it is important to register as soon as possible.
Where can you register?
• Register to vote in person at a registration station in the voting district in which you live.
• Register at your local IEC office from Monday to Friday during office hours. Because registration is on-going, you can register whether an election is taking place or not.
The IEC opens its registration stations during registration weekends just before general elections. Make sure that the address you provide is correct and complete. The address shows where you normally live. REMEMBER: If you give false address information, it is a crime. You could go to jail for up to 10 years.
How does registration work?
The barcode of your ID or smartcard will be scanned. The registration official will place a receipt in your ID book or on a form.
The receipt will show:
• Proof of application
• Your ID number
• The voting district number of your voting station
• Date and time of your application
Your ID book/smartcard will be checked when you vote to make sure that it is YOU. Your personal details on the voters’ roll will be the same as on your ID/smartcard.
How do you check if you are registered?
• Check at your local IEC Office from Monday to Friday during office hours.
• SMS your ID number to 32810.
• Go to the IEC website (www.elections.org.za) and follow the link “Am I registered to vote?”
• Before general elections, check the voters’ roll at your voting station where you are registered to vote. You can do this during the voter registration weekends.
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