The special vote system, which is available for South African citizens who are disabled, homebound or unable to travel, will benefit many voting citizens, including differently abled students at Stellenbosch University (SU).
This was according to Marcia Lyner-Cleophas, head of the Disability Unit in the Centre for Student Counselling and Development at SU. Citizens who are disabled, homebound or unable to travel to voting stations will have until 17:00 on 4 October to register for the special vote, in order to participate in this year’s local elections, according to an official media release issued by the Electoral Commission of South Africa (IEC) on 22 September.
Citizens who are disabled, homebound or unable to travel to voting stations will have until 17:00 on 4 October to register for the special vote in order to participate in this year’s local elections, according to an official media release issued by the Electoral Commission of South Africa (IEC) on 22 September. PHOTO: Giuseppe Rajkumar Guerandi
The home-visit special vote option will see eligible voters being visited by a voting officer on either 30 or 31 October to cast their votes, according to the release. Applications for special votes have been open since 20 September.
“Special vote home-visits are about extending an opportunity to the differently abled to cast their vote,” said Michael Hendrickse, Western Cape provincial electoral officer for the IEC. The special vote was first implemented in South Africa in 1999, according to Hendrickse.
The home-visit special vote option is also available to elderly and pregnant people, who may not be able to travel to voting stations on 1 November, according to Hendrickse.
Awareness at SU
The special vote system should be marketed more widely, across “tv, radio, print media, social media and on [SU] campus”, according to Lyner-Cleophas. Students should be made more aware of this system on campus, she added.
“Just asking around today, nobody knew of this facility and function of the IEC,” said Lyner-Cleophas.
Luigia Nicholas, the outgoing manager of the special needs portfolio for Stellenbosch University’s Student Representative Council, explains the importance of the special voting system, particularly for disabled citizens. AUDIO: Giuseppe Rajkumar Guerandi
The IEC “has applied extensive resources in the promotion of the special vote”, in the form of pamphleteering and the stationing of outreach offices in every municipality, to educate the public on special votes. This was according to Hendrickse.
“We have our stakeholders, such as political parties, who also go out and promote the value of the special vote…then of course we also have the media,” added Hendrickse.
Luigia Nicholas, the outgoing manager of the special needs portfolio for SU’s Student Representative Council (SRC), told MatieMedia that she noticed some people with disabilities do not register to vote because they assume the system is not accessible to them.
“What I’ve noticed in some voting stations [is that] they don’t always adapt it according to a specific person’s needs,” said Nicholas. “I think the home-vote is really important for people who are homebound, especially for people with certain disabilities who can’t travel as much.”
Michael Hendrickse, Western Cape provincial electoral officer for the Electoral Commission of South Africa, explained to MatieMedia that the home-visit special vote option is available for elderly and pregnant people, who may not be able to travel to voting stations on 1 November. PHOTO: Sourced/Electoral Commission of South Africa (IEC)