Changing addresses and not notifying the IEC in writing could see many voters miss their chance to make a mark in this year’s national and provincial elections.
This applies even if you’ve just moved down the road or to a different part of town. It’s imperative you update your details for the voting station in your new location. Failure to do so will result in your not being able to vote because you will remain on the voters’ roll where you previously resided.
To check which address the IEC has for you citizens can go online at www.elections.org.za or SMS your ID number to 32810, contact the call centre during office hours on 0800 118 000, or visit the voting station during registration weekend on Saturday 3 and Sunday 4 February. Only if you have updated your address, can you be sure that you will be voting at the correct voting station.
In former national and provincial elections, voters could simply arrive at a voting station where they were not registered and still vote. Now, the law requires that voters inform the IEC in writing, before Election Day, that you want to vote at a different voting station to where you are registered. So, just because you were previously allowed to vote at a voting station where you weren’t registered, it doesn’t mean you will automatically be able to vote there again without informing the IEC.
To avoid the disappointment of arriving at the wrong voting station, update your residential address, which will place you in the correct voting district and you will know where your voting station is. Changing your address is quick and straightforward: take your South African ID to any of voting stations on the registration days, between 08:00 and 17:00, and the IEC officials will assist you. Or, visit www.elections.org.za and follow the straightforward directions. This is also available to first-time voters who need to register.
Furthermore, be mindful when persons who are not IEC officials offer to assist you to register online. Make sure it’s someone you trust with your personal information, and provide your cellphone number with your application so the IEC can verify that it’s your application, and also inform you of the outcome.
