As many as 204 847 South Africans queued to vote five years ago, but submitted ballot papers that were spoilt. Image: Flickr / Darryn van der Walt
Elections 2019: Over 770 000 South Africans to cast special votes
This is almost double the number of special voters in 2014.
As many as 204 847 South Africans queued to vote five years ago, but submitted ballot papers that were spoilt. Image: Flickr / Darryn van der Walt
The IEC reports that 774 094 voters have been granted permission to cast a special vote on 6 and 7 May 2019.
This is almost double the number of special voters in 2014 (393 516) and is close to the number of special voters in 2009 (743 609).
Of those whose applications for a special vote in 2019 were approved, 452 418 (58.4% will cast their votes during a home visit by election officials accompanied by party agents and observers. Voters granted permission for home visits are only those who cannot visit a voting station due to physical infirmity, disability and pregnancy.
The remaining 321 676 voters (41.6%) will cast their special votes at their voting station between 09H00 and 17H00.
Of the total applications approved:
- 440 863 were submitted manually (57%)
- 197 133 were submitted online (25%)
- 136 098 were submitted via SMS (18%)
The province with the highest number of home visits is the Eastern Cape (85 252) and the province with the highest number of voting station visits is Gauteng (71 921).
| Province | Home Visits | Percentage of total | Voting Station Visits | Percentage of total |
| Eastern Cape | 85 282 | 20.0% | 25 348 | 7.8% |
| Free State | 34 127 | 7.5% | 32 560 | 10.1% |
| Gauteng | 55 136 | 12.0% | 71 921 | 22.3% |
| KwaZulu-Natal | 70 672 | 15.6% | 31 781 | 9.8% |
| Limpopo | 64 906 | 14.3% | 16 687 | 5.2% |
| Mpumalanga | 30 470 | 6.7% | 54 658 | 17.3% |
| North West | 39 398 | 8.7% | 25 429 | 7.9% |
| Northern Cape | 31 797 | 7.0% | 38 136 | 11.8% |
| Western Cape | 40 630 | 8.9% | 25 156 | 7.8% |
| Total | 452 418 | 100 | 321 676 | 100 |
Elections 2019: The special voting process
The special voting process involves using a double envelope system in which the marked ballot of the voter is placed in an unmarked envelope which is then placed inside a second envelope which contains the voters’ ID.
The outer envelope is used to ensure an accurate register and verification of special votes – and is removed when the envelope is opened at the close of voting on Election Day 8 May 2019. Once it’s removed from the larger envelope, the inner envelope is placed in a ballot box to ensure secrecy of the vote and de-link the marked ballot from the details of the voter on the outer envelope.
Special votes are transported and stored securely overnight at municipal warehouses and other secure locations including local police stations on Monday 6 May and Tuesday 7 May 2019 before being transported back to the voting station on Election Day for inclusion in the count.
The overnight security facilities are vetted by the State Security Agency to ensure adequate security arrangements.
Voters who applied for a special vote can check the status of their application on the website or SMS your ID number to 32711 (charged at R1).
Issued by the electoral commission. Ensuring free and fair elections.
