Register Within A Few Minutes

The Electoral Commission has launched an online voter registration facility allowing new voters to register and existing voters to update or amend their registration from the ease and convenience of their homes or elsewhere.

The online voter registration facility is part of the Electoral Commission’s on-going commitment to provide greater accessibility and convenience to voters. It follows the implementation of a range of other digital service channels over the past 5 years including online candidate nominations, online special vote applications and online party funding declarations.

The new online voter registration facility has been in development for a number of years. The first phase was the introduction of an online service known as “Click, Check, Confirm” ahead of the 2019 National and Provincial Elections through which existing voters were able to check and amend their registration. More than 350 000 voters have made use of this system since its introduction.

The second phase launched today allows all eligible voters – whether registered or not – to register and update their details via a computer, smart mobile device or tablet.

The system will utilise a number of security checks to ensure the integrity of the voters’ roll. These include the use of a One-Time-Pin (OTP) verification and the submission of a scan or photograph of the voter’s ID document. 

The online registration complements other existing registration options including on-going voter registration at all local IEC offices and various outreach initiatives including at schools, tertiary education institutions and the general voter registration weekends ahead of elections.

The Electoral Commission believes the online facility will be a game-changer in promoting voter registration especially among young and first-time voters. Research and engagements over the years with young eligible voters to better understand their behavior have frequently identified the lack of online voter registration as a key obstacle.

The introduction of an online registration system is also a crucial part of the Electoral Commission’s plans to boost voter registration despite COVID-19 ahead of the Local Government Elections scheduled for 27 October this year.

The Electoral Commission last week rescheduled its planned voter registration weekend to 31 July-1 August due to the third wave of the pandemic. All 23 151 voting stations are expected to open between 8am and 5pm over that weekend to help voters register and check their registration details in person.

The Electoral Commission hopes that providing a facility whereby voters can register, check and update their registration details without having to visit an IEC office or a voting station will serve to minimize congestion and maximum registration.