If you are likely to find yourself away from home on May 8t, you have two weeks to apply to cast a special vote in the 2019 elections.
According to the Electoral Commission of South Africa (IEC) “a special vote allows a registered voter who can’t cast their vote at their voting station on Election Day to apply to vote on a predetermined day before Election Day.”
In a statement released on April 4, the IEC said the window period for applications by voters to cast special votes in this year’s election has officially opened and is set to close by the 18 April 2019
Voters eligible to cast a special vote as they will be away from their voting stations include police, public servants, emergency medical service workers and journalists.
A second kind of special vote is available to voters who are unable to reach a voting station due to physical frailty, disability or pregnancy.
Special votes will be cast on the two days before May 8, the IEC said.
Applications for special votes can be made online via a secure portal at https://www.elections.org.za/IECOnline/Special-Vote-Sessi
The IEC concluded that applicants for special votes will receive an SMS notifying them of the outcome of their application once it has been processed.