Made a mistake on your ballot? Here’s how to get a replacement

Voters who make a mistake on their ballot paper can request a new one from election officials to ensure their vote counts.

Remember

• Stop! Don’t put your ballot inside, because it can’t be taken out or replaced once inside the ballot box
• Speak up: Go to the presiding officer or election official inside the voting station
• Replace: The presiding officer will cancel your ruined ballot paper and issue you a new one so you can try again

How voting works

• On election day, go to the voting station at which you’re registered
• Show your green, bar-coded, South African ID book or a temporary identification certificate to the voting officer
• The voting officer checks that your name appears on the voters’ roll
• Once the voting officer is satisfied that you have the correct ID, are a registered voter and have not already voted, your name is marked off the roll, your ID is stamped on the second page, and your thumbnail is inked
• The voting officer stamps the back of the correct number of official ballot papers (one per election) and gives them to you
• Take your ballot paper/s to an empty ballot booth, mark the ballot paper, fold it so that your choice isn’t visible and place the ballot paper in the ballot box
• Remember that you can only vote once in each election