With voting having kicked off domestically on Monday, myths, misinformation and some realistic concerns are swirling around our online space. We take a look at some of the claims doing the rounds.
I voted early with a special vote, but I'm worried about the envelope system violating the secrecy of my vote.
A number of people have raised concerns about special voting because of a slightly confusing process that sees people deposit their ballots in an envelope-in-an-envelope, with the external envelope marked with their ID numbers.
Don't stress, says the Electoral Commission of SA (IEC): it's been like this for previous elections. People casting their ballots via a special vote do use a double envelope system - the same system used by individuals casting their votes overseas. The actual ballot paper is placed in an unmarked envelope which is then deposited in a second external envelope marked with the voter's details. But the inner envelope is removed and placed into a ballot box separately - "to de-link the marked ballot from the details of the voter on the outer envelope", says the IEC.
The purpose of the outer envelope is to make sure that nobody voted early who was not registered for a special vote.
"Once we've done that verification, the outer envelope is removed and discarded," IEC deputy CEO Masego Sheburi said in a press briefing on Monday afternoon.
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