"Election survival guide"

What do I need to take with me?

 

Your green bar-coded South African ID book, or a smart ID card, or your temporary identity certificate.

 

Selfies

 

You’re part of a selfie-taking generation, there's no doubt about that. Your gut is telling you to snap a shot of your first voting experience in the ballot booth but DO NOT DO IT, you will be sorry. 

 

The IEC has already warned us to keep our cellphones in our pockets and those shutters closed when we step inside the booth to make our mark. There's a good reason for this. 

 

The IEC says, "It is an offence to take and/or publish photographs which reveal a person’s vote on a ballot paper." If you don't listen, you could face a fine or jail time. So, "how will I get caught?" you ask? Well, you ARE taking a selfie genius!

 

No receipts

 

You’re growing up which means you’re learning how important it is to ask for a receipt when signing important documents, making study payments or buying goods.

 

This doesn’t apply to the voting process though. This is that one time when you can actually do what you need to do without taking a piece of paper away.

 

You’ll be given two ballot papers and both need to be submitted. No, you can’t mark an ‘X’ on one and keep the other as a copy. For proof that you’ve voted, just show everyone your left inked thumb. You could probably do this for several days after voting. Yes, the ink is that good!  

 

Copying

 

Remember the time when your best friend helped you out in that hectic maths test in class? Well, this isn't that time. When it comes to voting, you're on your own dude. It's just you and your two official ballot papers: one for the national election and one for the provincial election. You can prepare to 'fill out' these ballots in advance by choosing who you'd like to vote for. 

 

Mistakes happen

 

If you made a mistake on your ballot paper, scratching it out and signing your initials next to the correction won’t make a difference. In fact, your vote won’t count as it would be considered a ‘spoiled’ ballot. What you’ll need to do is ask the presiding officer for a new ballot paper and make sure the incorrect ballot paper is marked as "cancelled".

 

What if there are no pens?

 

Darren’s teammates always find themselves in this predicament whenever he’s around. We think it’s a conspiracy to prevent them from signing their leave forms. However this shouldn’t be an issue when you’re voting. There’ll be lots of pens available. If, for some reason, there isn’t one in your voting booth, alert an electoral official.

 

How do I make my mark?

 

You need to indicate the party of your choice by marking an ‘X’ in the box next to the party name. Do not tick the box or draw a smiley face to signify how happy you are with your selection. Make one mark per ballot paper. Your mark must not touch any of the walls/lines of the box. It is best to make a cross.

 

Folding

 

After making your mark, you need to deposit your votes into two separate boxes, which an official will indicate to you. Now’s not the time to show off all those paper plane folding skills. Neither is it the time to launch your ballots into the boxes from several metres away while exhibiting exploding sound effects when they bounce off the top and land on the floor. No, you will do none of this. Just fold your ballot papers neatly in half and pop them into the boxes. 

 

What do I do after voting?

 

Once you’ve exited the voting venue, take your cellphone out and pose for a selfie with your inked thumb. Then tweet this photo to @ECRBreakfast along with #ThumbsUpKZN. 

 

Happy voting and don’t forget to tell us all about it!