Voting checklist: special votes on 2 and 3 November, then Election Day on the 4th

South Africans who cannot vote on 4 November can do so on the special voting days, 2 and 3 November, and everyone else can vote from 7am to 9pm on Election Day, according to the Electoral Commission of South Africa (IEC).

Only voters whose special vote applications were approved may vote early. The IEC has approved a record 2,655,067 applications for the 2026 local government elections, up from 1,147,759 in 2021.

Special voting

Special voting takes place on 2 and 3 November from 8am to 5pm, the IEC says. There are two kinds. Home visits are for approved voters who cannot travel to their voting stations because of physical infirmity or disability. Station-based special votes are for approved voters who cannot vote on Election Day; they must go to their designated voting station on 2 or 3 November.

KwaZulu-Natal has the most approved home-visit applications at 143,714, and Gauteng the most station-based applications at 391,589, the IEC figures show. Women make up 74% of approved home-visit applications and 64% of station-based ones, and voters aged 60 and over make up 79.6% of home-visit applications.

Voters with physical disabilities, including blindness or visual impairment, may be assisted by a person of their choice. That person must be at least 18 and cannot be a candidate or a party agent.

Election Day and ID

Voting stations open from 7am to 9pm on Wednesday 4 November, the IEC says.

The IEC accepts three forms of identification: a smart ID card, a green barcoded ID book, or a valid temporary identity certificate. It says driver's licences, passports, student cards and photocopies of ID documents are not accepted for voting purposes.

What you will vote on and how to check registration

Voters registered in metros receive two ballots, one for ward and one for proportional representation (PR). Voters registered in local municipalities receive three: ward, PR and district PR, the IEC says.

In municipal elections, voters must vote at the station where they are registered. The IEC says voters can check their details at www.elections.org.za, by SMSing their 13-digit ID number to 32810, or by sending "Hi" to the IEC WhatsApp number 060 088 0000.