Valid identity documents essential for November elections
Home Affairs has urged eligible voters to ensure they have an accepted identity document to vote, while expanding access to Smart ID services through departmental offices and participating banks.
With the Local Government Elections approaching, the Department of Home Affairs is urging eligible voters to apply for and collect their IDs without delay.
Registered voters must present an accepted identity document to cast their ballots on November 4. Acceptable documents include a Smart ID card, green barcoded ID book or valid temporary identity certificate.
Driver’s licences, passports, student cards and photocopies of identity documents will not be accepted for voting.
The department is also encouraging people who have not collected their IDs, or need to replace lost or damaged documents, to visit a Home Affairs office or one of more than 450 participating bank branches.
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Home Affairs has urged citizens who already have their identity documents to encourage family members, friends and colleagues who still need a Smart ID to apply for and collect their documents before the elections.
Minister of Home Affairs Dr Leon Schreiber said having a valid ID was essential for participating in the democratic process.
“A valid ID holds the key to democratic participation in the upcoming elections. I call upon South Africans to make use of our vastly improved services to apply for and collect their IDs without delay,” he said.
The department has expanded access to Smart ID services through partnerships with banks across the country.
In July, it extended its digital partnership with Absa, which included the launch of the country’s first bank-based Home Affairs mobile unit to improve access to services.
Home Affairs said South Africans now had access to about 1 000 locations where they could apply for a Smart ID card, including departmental offices and participating banks. This is nearly five times the number of access points available two years ago.
The department plans to expand its digital partnership services before the end of the year to include adult and minor passport applications, first-time Smart ID applications and, at a later stage, home delivery of identity documents.
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Schreiber said the department’s Home Affairs @ Home initiative aimed to make it easier for citizens to replace green barcoded ID books with more secure Smart ID cards.
“Through Home Affairs @ Home, we are making it easier than ever before for South Africans to replace the fraud-prone green barcoded ID book with the secure Smart ID Card.
“Together, we are closing the chapter on the fraud-prone green barcoded ID book and opening a new chapter of secure, digitalised identity services that deliver dignity for all,” he said
