South Africa: Record 2.6 Million Get Early Shot At Local Polls

A record 2,655,067 voters have been approved for special votes, more than double the number approved for the 2021 local elections.

• Almost 680,000 voters will be visited at home, while nearly two million others can vote at their registered voting stations.

More than 2.6-million South Africans get an early chance to choose their councillors from Monday as special voting starts across the country.

Special votes will be cast on Monday, 2 November, and Tuesday, 3 November, before the main local government elections on Wednesday.

The Electoral Commission approved 2,655,067 special voters this year.

That is 131% more than the 1,147,759 special votes approved for the 2021 local government elections.

Of this year's total, 678,525 people have been approved for home visits because they cannot get to a voting station because of a physical condition or disability.

Another 1,976,542 people can go to their registered voting stations because they will not be able to vote there on Wednesday.

The commission has deployed 127,000 election officials to handle special voting.

Voting stations will be open from 8am to 5pm on Monday and Tuesday for people whose applications were approved.

Voters must go to the voting station where they are registered and must take a South African identity document.

They can use a Smart ID card, green barcoded ID book or a valid Temporary Identity Certificate.

KwaZulu-Natal has the largest number of approved home visits, with 143,714.

Gauteng has the most people approved to cast special votes at voting stations, with 391,589.

It also has the highest total number of approved special voters at 480,721, followed by the Eastern Cape with 401,971 and KwaZulu-Natal with 348,971.

Older people make up most of those receiving home visits.

Nearly eight out of 10 approved home-visit voters are aged 60 or older, while women account for 74% of home-visit applications.

The commission has warned people expecting officials at their homes to stay at the address they gave when applying.

Officials have hundreds of thousands of homes to visit over two days and will not return if nobody is there when they arrive.

But missing the home visit does not mean losing the right to vote.

Those voters can still go to their registered voting station on Wednesday and vote with everyone else.

Special votes cast on Monday and Tuesday will not be counted immediately.

They will be kept secure and checked against special-vote records before being opened and counted with the rest of the ballots after voting closes on Wednesday.

The commission has also warned that severe thunderstorms could affect special voting in parts of Limpopo, Mpumalanga, KwaZulu-Natal, Gauteng, the Free State and Eastern Cape on Monday.

Voters who are unsure whether their special vote was approved can SMS their identity number to 32711 at a cost of R1.

They can also check their voting station details through the commission's WhatsApp service on 0600 88 0000 or call 0800 11 8000.

Read the original article on Scrolla.