IEC launches online address capture initiative

THE ELECTORAL Commission has launched an online address capture campaign which will allow South Africa’s 26 million registered voters to check, confirm and update their address details via the commission’s website.

The facility, which was launched yesterday, is available at www.elections.org.za/MyIEC.

The campaign is directed at all registered voters including those for whom the IEC does not have an address; those whose addresses might be incomplete on the IEC’s voters roll; those who might have moved and need to update their addresses; and those whose addresses remain the same must still confirm them for correctness.

IEC spokesperson, Kate Bapela, said yesterday that the initiative formed part of the ongoing campaign by the Electoral Commission to obtain the addresses for all voters as well as ensuring voters are registered in correct voting district segments in line with the ruling of the Constitutional Court in June 2016.

“In its ruling the Constitutional Court granted the Electoral Commission a reprieve from this obligation which allowed the 2016 municipal elections to proceed but ruled it must comply by June 2018.”

Bapela said that through a variety of initiatives the Electoral Commission had made significant progress in addressing the challenge.

These included increasing the proportion of complete addresses from 34 percent of registered voters in March 2016 to 73 percent of registered voters currently; reducing the proportion of incomplete or generic addresses from 34 percent in March 2016 to 15 percent currently; and reducing the percentage of registered voters without any recorded address from 32 percent to approximately 11 percent.

“However, a considerable challenge remains to obtain addresses for about three million voters without any address and provide complete address information for the approximately four million voters who have an incomplete or generic address.”

Registered voters, who have access to the internet, only have to click, check and confirm their addresses on the online My IEC platform. Users will also be able to help friends and family to do the same.

For those registered voters who do not have access to the internet, it has been proposed that voting stations be opened during 2018 to allow voters to check and provide address details face-to-face at their voting station.

“The online campaign will be supported by a comprehensive communication campaign to explain and promote the facility via various media including television, radio, print and online,” Bapela said.

The IEC Contact Centre (0800 11 8000) has also been activated Monday to Friday during office hours to assist voters.”