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1 Voter fact sheet: 2014 National and Provincial Elections

The voters roll for the 2014 National and Provincial Elections closed on 25 February. If you have never
registered as a voter, you can still make an appointment to register at your local IEC office (contact info at
www.elections.org.za/content/About-Us/Contact/), but you wont be able to vote in these elections. There
is no way to vote in these elections if you arent already a registered voter.
Once you register, you will remain on the voters roll. You then only need to register again if you move or
your voting district boundaries change (check your registration details to find out).
To check your registration details you can:
SMS your ID number to 32810 (SMS charged at R1.00)
Call 0800 11 8000 (+27 11 654 1000 if calling from outside South Africa)
Visit www.elections.org.za/content/For-voters/My-voter-registration-details/
Download our mobile app for voters (see www.elections.org.za/content/For-Voters/Mobile-apps/)
Please note: Voter registration was only introduced after the 1994 elections, so you arent registered if that
was the last time you voted.
Election Day, 7 May 2014, is a public holiday and voting stations will be open from 7am to 9pm. It is NOT
possible to vote at a later date or at any other time.
Special votes took place on 5 and 6 May and it is not possible to cast a special vote on any other date.
Voting abroad took place on 30 April. It is not possible to vote abroad on any other date.
During national and provincial elections, you should vote at your correct voting station (where you are
registered to vote). However, you can vote at another voting station if youre unable to vote where youre
registered.
If you are voting at your correct voting station (where you are registered to vote), you do not need to provide
proof of registration as your name will be on the voters roll for that voting station. You only need to bring
your valid ID.
2 Voter fact sheet: 2014 National and Provincial Elections

Want to know where your correct voting station is?
Call 0800 11 8000 (make sure you have your ID number);
SMS your ID number to 32810 (SMS charged at R1.00);
Check your registration details online at www.elections.org.za/content/For-voters/My-voter-
registration-details/; or
Download our mobile app for voters (see www.elections.org.za/content/For-Voters/Mobile-apps/) and
check your registration details.
During national and provincial elections, you can vote at another voting station if youre unable to vote
where youre registered. However, officials must be able to verify that you are registered.
If our zip-zip scanner is unable to verify your registration, you must provide the registration sticker pasted in
your ID when you applied for registration. You will also have to complete a form at the voting station.
If you vote outside the province where youre registered, you will only get a national ballot and not a
provincial ballot.
Looking for your nearest voting station?
Visit http://maps.elections.org.za/vsfinder/, search for your street/suburb and click your location on
the map; or
Download our mobile app (see www.elections.org.za/content/For-Voters/Mobile-apps/) and search for
a voting station.
The ONLY forms of ID accepted when voting are:
green, bar-coded ID book;
smartcard ID; or
valid Temporary Identity Certificate (TIC).
Certified copies are NOT accepted. No other forms of identity (e.g. drivers licence, passport) are accepted.
Home Affairs offices will be open from 7am to 9pm on 7 May so you can collect your ID or apply and get a
TIC. Please call Home Affairs on 0800 60 11 90. The IEC is unable to assist with any ID-related issues or
queries.
Voters may wear party gear if they like.
Firearms and dangerous weapons are not allowed within the boundaries of a voting station.
Priority must be given to elderly people, pregnant women and disabled voters.
If you are voting within the province where youre registered, and you registered within South Africa
(voters who register abroad only receive a national ballot), you will receive 2 ballots 1 for the national
elections and 1 for the provincial elections. Parties are listed on the ballot paper based on a draw.
VF Plus won the draw for these elections, so they appear first and the remaining parties follow on in
3 Voter fact sheet: 2014 National and Provincial Elections

alphabetical order. 29 Parties appear on the national ballot, and 45 parties in total appear on the national
and provincial ballots (not all parties are contesting nationally or in all provinces).
Make sure that the back of your ballot paper is stamped before you make your mark.
The rumour circulating about pens with disappearing ink is an urban legend.
Place your X in the box next to the party you want to vote for.
It is illegal to take photographs (including selfies) of a marked ballot. Selfies with marked ballots could
open voters up to intimidation and violence. Please respect the law.
When folding your ballot paper, make sure that the stamp on the back is visible so staff can see it (to
verify that your ballot is stamped) before you place it in the ballot box.
No one at a voting station has a right to see your marked ballot paper, and you are not required to tell
anyone who you are voting for.
Each party can have 2 party agents to observe proceedings at a voting station. Party agents may not
wear party gear and they may not campaign in the voting station.
Parties may not set up tables/tents within the boundaries of a voting station.
Please lodge any complaints immediately with the Presiding or Deputy Presiding Officer at the voting
station. If you arent satisfied with the handling of your complaint, please email full details, including the
voting district number and peoples names, to iec@elections.org.za so we can investigate.
Election laws do not prohibit parties from campaigning via telephone or SMS. However, the IEC does not
provide parties with voters contact numbers. By law, parties must have access to the voters roll, but the roll
doesnt contain contact numbers.
Parties are not allowed to campaign after midnight before Election Day.
Election results will be available at www.elections.org.za and via our mobile apps (voters (see
www.elections.org.za/content/For-Voters/Mobile-apps/ to download) as they start coming in some time after
9pm on 7 May.
We have 7 days to announce the final results, but we are usually able to do so on the Saturday after the
elections.
If you still have questions, please contact us via one of the following methods:
Call us on 0800 11 8000 (open 7am to 9pm)
Post on our wall or inbox us at www.facebook.com/IECSouthAfrica. Please note: We do not respond
to comments on posts, only original posts and inbox messages.
Email us at iec@elections.org.za. When emailing this address, you will receive an automated reply
that contains info that answers most of the questions we receive. We review all emails, so someone
will respond as soon as possible if we see that your query/complaint is not addressed by the
automated response.
Please note that, due to hourly limits Twitter imposes on the number of tweets you can post, we do not
respond to the majority of queries addressed to our Twitter account (@IECSouthAfrica). However, please
follow us for useful info and results updates.
4 Voter fact sheet: 2014 National and Provincial Elections

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