The Independent Electoral Commission (IEC) will once again use technology to help voters check if they are registered to vote in next year's general elections.
Speaking at the launch of the IEC's election campaign, in Midrand yesterday, IEC CEO advocate Pansy Tlakula said one of the IEC's key objectives is to make sure every eligible South African can cast their vote in the elections.
To this end, potential voters will be able to check their registration status both by SMS and online this year.
Tlakula explains that the public can send an SMS to the number 32810, with their ID number as the content (message).
"The IEC will receive the message through the cellular phone network, through a Web service on the IEC Web site, check the registration status of the ID number, and immediately send feedback indicating the finding," she says.
"If you are registered [to vote], the message will state your name, the voting station and voting station address at which you are registered and indicate the status; namely, whether you are eligible to vote or not. If you are not registered, the message will say so, or indicate if your ID number is not valid. The response is quick; generally, less than a minute."
She explains that the facility uses a common number (32810) across all three South African cellular networks (Vodacom, MTN and Cell C). The service will cost the sender R1.
A similar, Web-based, facility is available through the Internet.
Tlakula says: "If you are on the Internet, you can visit the IEC Web site at www.elections.org.za from the home page [and] select 'Am I Registered'. It will prompt you for an ID number and will provide registration status and details similar to the SMS facility."
The "Am I Registered" page can also be accessed directly through https://www.elections.org.za/AmRegister/AmRegister.aspx. The Web site response provides options for additional information, such as online maps for directions to voting stations.
According to her, other online facilities include:
* "Where do I Register" - a Web-based geographic information system mapping facility that enables users to find the correct voting station for their address and also defines the borders of the voting district.
* Web services facilities for online enquiries by political parties.
* An extranet facility giving party liaison committee (PLC) members online access to all minutes of PLC meetings around the country.
* Contact details (both physical addresses and telephonic) of all IEC offices around the country.
This year, the number of voting stations across SA will be increased from just over 14 500 (in the 1999 elections) to nearly 20 000. SA currently has more than 20.1 million registered voters, 55% of which are women.
The IEC's ICT budget for this year stands at R200 million, a quadrupling from previous elections, as it will invest heavily in 30 000 new scanning units for bar-coded ID books.
These scanners will be used for the first time on the weekend of 8 and 9 November, when the IEC will embark on its first mass registration drive across the country.
Related story:
IEC ICT spend quadruples
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