ELECTION NEWS - The Electoral Commission of South Africa (IEC) in the Western Cape, led by the Provincial Electoral Officer Michael Hendrickse, is hosting a series of public regional engagements on electronic voting (e-voting) across the province.
The programme begins this Friday 12 September in Cape Town and will end on 30 September in Oudtshoorn.
The purpose of the workshops is to gather public input that will inform the review of the IEC’s current Policy Discussion Document on e-voting systems.
A final policy document, following internal reviews and discussions, will be presented to policy makers, including parliament, for a debate and decision on the adoption of electronic voting in South Africa.
Garden Route District schedule:
- George: 29 September, George Banquet Hall
- Oudtshoorn: 30 September, Oudtshoorn Banquet Hall
- (Times will be added when received. Ed)
A recent study by the Human Sciences Research Council (HSRC) into e-voting tasked by the IEC, found that e-voting is seen as a way of solving some of the limitations associated with traditional, paper-based means of voting, but that it also poses a number of challenges from an electoral operations and voter education perspective.
On the plus side
In the introduction of the Policy Discussion Document titled Exploring the Implementation of Electronic Voting in South Africa, the researchers state that e-voting could provide fast seamless ballot tabulation and fewer unintentionally spoilt ballots.
The HSRC study found that it could mitigate low voter turnout, especially amongst young people.
In the medium- to long term, this mode of voting is also regarded as economically viable, since it is less resource intensive than paper-based voting.
E-voting machines can be configured for multiple electronic interfaces. This assists in addressing challenges such as illiteracy, multilingualism and visual impairments among the voting age population by making use of fonts of varying colour, contrast and size, as well as audio.
As demonstrated by the cases of Brazil and India, e-voting can be deployed in large geographically expansive areas like South Africa.
The cultural and linguistic diversity of the country, the ever-increasing number of political parties, and the need to make provision for independent candidates alongside political parties on ballot papers, renders traditional paper-based voting increasingly problematic, while enhancing the case for e-voting.
The negatives
Despite these potential gains of electronic voting, the HSRC study also notes disadvantages.
These include threats of malware manipulation in e-voting (hacking), leading to decreased public trust in the integrity of the system.
Measures will be needed to address security, reliability and transparency concerns and to maintain confidence in the electoral process.
E-voting also arrives with a considerable capital cost, both for setup and voter education, although costs reduce dramatically after start-up.
In addition, developing countries such as South Africa are faced with high illiteracy rates and a stark urban-rural divide. This makes it relatively difficult to adopt e-voting technologies, particularly in rural areas where multilingual illiteracy, digital literacy skills, access and off-grid connectivity are major concerns.
South Africa is also faced with economic challenges, as well as high levels of poverty, unemployment and inequality, so adopting e-voting would compete with other social spending priorities, such as health, education and social support.
Document ends on positive note
The HSRC study concludes that the implementation of electronic voting in South Africa presents an opportunity to modernise the
electoral process, enhance voter participation and ensure the integrity of elections. "By addressing the key considerations and challenges outlined in this document, as well as the proposed recommendations, South Africa can move towards a more efficient and accessible electronic voting system."
Key national timelines:
Public consultations: March - September 2025
Review of submissions by IEC: October 2025
Drafting of the Green Paper: March 2026
The public are encouraged to actively contribute to this process by attending the regional workshops.
Submissions can also be made through:
A dedicated IEC e-Voting webpage: Engaging with South Africa’s E-Voting Future
Email: evoting@elections.org.za
The deadline for submissions is 30 September 2025.
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