Elections 2024: How to vote outside the area where you registered

South African citizens can for the first time this year vote at a voting district other than the one where they originally registered – but applications to do so close on Friday, 17 May.

This means if voters are traveling on, 29 May 2024, the day of the elections, or cannot return to their hometowns or provinces where they were initially registered, they will still be able to draw their crosses.

North-West University students who registered to vote in other parts of the country but cannot travel home to participate in the elections, must notify the Electoral Commission (IEC) of their intentions to vote near their campuses, by completing an online Section 24A form by Friday 17 May 2024, 23:59.

The IEC said that the voting district that is closest to where you will be located on voting day will be determined by the system when you add your address to the form.

“Don’t forget to forward this information [about voting in a different voting district] to relatives and friends who might be travelling on election day,” said the IEC.

Masego Sheburi, deputy electoral officer, told IOL that those who continue to vote in the provinces where they are registered and pre-notify the IEC will receive three ballots: national, regional, and provincial. However, those who vote outside of their provinces will only receive the national ballot.

If you do not submit a Section 24A notification to the IEC on time you will not be allowed to cast a ballot at a different voting location.

To check the voting station where you are registered, enter your ID number here.

Applications for special votes closed on 3 May. Special votes are available to people who are unable to vote at their voting stations on election day due to disability, age, pregnancy or illness. If an application for a special vote is successful, IEC officials will visit voters at their place of residence. The dates for special votes are 27 and 28 May from 9:00-17:00, according to SA news, the South African Government News Agency.

The procedure for special votes is similar to those at other voting stations. Voter’s thumbnails will be marked, they will receive ballot paper(s); they will be able to vote in secret and seal the ballot(s) in an unmarked envelope that will be provided and the unmarked envelope will be placed in another envelope that is marked with the voter’s name, ID and voting district number. IEC officials will place the envelope in a secure ballot box for special votes. – By Nica-May van Zyl and Mamello Mokoena