News24 | Don’t get caught off guard: Address rules every voter must know

Your home address could be the difference between casting your vote and being turned away at the polling station in the local government elections – here’s what every South African voter needs to know about registering, writes Dhaya Pillay.

The countdown to the local government elections 2026 (LGE26) has officially begun.

Here’s everything you need to know about navigating LGE26’s address requirements.

Must voters produce an address when applying for registration?

Yes. The electoral laws prescribe that a person who applies for registration must complete a form. Both the online and manual application forms require citizens’ addresses specifying the house number, street name, suburb (district), town (municipality), and country. Those with rural addresses must give the village and town’s name, details of the tribal or administrative authority, and the postal code.

The online registration application compels citizens to complete their urban or rural addresses fully or locate their place of ordinary residence on a map. Otherwise, they will not be able to open the next screen to complete their registration.

Why does the IEC require a voter’s residential address?

Voters must be enrolled only for the voting districts within the ward in which they usually live. The chief electoral officer requires the voters’ addresses to assign each voter to a specific segment of the voters’ roll based on where they live. As its compiler and custodian, the IEC must ensure that the voters’ roll is accurate.

But the IEC has no obligation to investigate the accuracy of an address or whether the address provided is that of the voter. It must record such addresses as are “available” and given by voters.

Why is the voters’ roll necessary?

The voters’ roll is the basis on which the IEC assigns each voter to vote at a specific voting station. Voters may vote only at the station for which they are registered.

Local government elections are designed to have voters vote for leaders standing as independent candidates and representatives of political parties in wards and municipalities.

National and provincial elections are conducted on a party list system based on the number of seats allocated in both legislatures.

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May someone vote at a voting station other than the one assigned to them on the voters’ roll?

Generally, no. Exceptionally, yes, provided the voter notifies the CEO timeously of the specific voting station in South Africa at which they intend to vote on voting day.

Additional restrictions are that such voters must be in the region and province to cast votes for national and provincial elections, respectively. Importantly, these exceptions do not apply to LGE26; voters must vote at the voting stations to which they are assigned.

Why do political parties and independent candidates require the voters’ roll?

The voters’ roll enables them to focus their campaigns on canvassing for votes among registered voters. They do not have to spread their limited resources too thinly and widely to include unregistered voters.

Additionally, they can scrutinise the voters’ roll for errors. Any person may object to the IEC to correct a person’s registration details before the voters’ roll is certified.

May a homeless citizen vote?

Yes. A citizen without a conventional residential address may vote if they provide enough information about where they normally live so that the IEC can locate it on a map and enrol them on that segment of the voters’ roll for the voting district where they may vote. Residence is required for registration, to generate an accurate voters’ roll, and to direct voters to voting stations where they may vote.

Is a voter without a residential address allowed to vote?

Yes, if the voter appears in the voters’ roll, she may vote if her ordinary residence is within the ward, or local or metropolitan municipality.

Are there voters on the roll without addresses?

Very few voters without addresses remain on the voters’ roll. Some were registered when voters were not compelled to provide addresses. They must apply to the IEC to complete or change their addresses. All new registrations must be completed with addresses.

READ | EXPLAINER: Will I be able to vote at any voting station? No, you must go to your registered station

What if anyone objects to a voter’s incorrect address?

If anyone objects to a person being on the voters’ roll with incorrect details for an address, the IEC would be unable to correct the voters’ roll or determine the objection until it is able to contact and hear the voter’s explanation. Usually, this happens if the voter turns up to vote. In practice, the IEC would redact the incorrect addresses from the voters’ roll before certifying it and require the voter to produce proof of address before voting at a station.

Can the IEC refuse to register a voter?

Once the IEC receives an application for registration, the chief electoral officer must either accept or reject the application. They must accept the application if the applicant is a South African citizen, at least 18 years old, and produces a barcoded identity document. However, they must be satisfied that the application complies with all the requirements of the act. That includes the production of an address.

The CEO must refuse to register a person as a voter if the application is fraudulent or not made as prescribed. If voters insist on being registered in a voting district in which they do not live, the CEO is obliged to issue a notice form refusing to register them in that voting district; a belief that the IEC has no option but to register a voter in a ward in which they do not live is incorrect.

Are there consequences for giving false information to the IEC?

Making a false statement under oath is perjury. Giving false information to the IEC is a criminal offence. So is impersonation – the crime of registering a person as a voter or using a voter’s details without permission. The electoral laws caution people against committing these crimes.

A red, highlighted notice pops up on the screen for registration, warning voters of the consequences of committing any of these crimes.

The Constitutional Court emphasised in both Kham (2015) and Mhlope that the CEO must receive an address of a voter to complete the voters’ roll.

They have a duty when making entries in the voters’ roll to ensure that the voter is registered only for the voting district in which that person is ordinarily resident and for no other voting district.

Implementing these multilayered guardrails would protect the integrity of the voters’ roll. They are benchmarks for free and fair elections.

- Dhaya Pillay, retired Judge of the High Court of South Africa, and Commissioner: Electoral Commission of South Africa. She is writes in her personal capacity.

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