CENTURION, Monday 21 September 2026 — South Africans who will be unable to vote normally on 4 November can from Monday apply for a special vote in the 2026 local government elections, as the Electoral Commission enters another major stage of preparations for the nationwide municipal polls.
Applications opened on 21 September and will close at 17:00 on Monday, 12 October, the Electoral Commission of South Africa has confirmed.
Approved special votes will be cast on Monday 2 November and Tuesday 3 November, immediately before ordinary voting on Wednesday, 4 November.
The process applies nationally and covers two broad categories: registered voters who require a home visit because they cannot physically travel to a voting station, and registered voters who are able to attend their voting station but cannot do so on election day.
The IEC says special voting is intended to ensure voters are not excluded from participating because of their circumstances.
Two types of special vote available
Voters who are physically infirm, disabled or otherwise unable to travel to a voting station can apply for an IEC home visit.
Pregnant voters who cannot travel may also qualify under the IEC’s special-vote provisions.
If approved, election officials will visit the applicant at the address provided for the special vote.
The address must be within the voting district where that person is registered.
A second category covers voters who are physically capable of going to their voting station but will not be able to vote there on 4 November.
This can include people working on election day, voters in essential services and media personnel who expect to be away from their registered voting districts while carrying out their duties.
Approved applicants in this category must vote at the voting station where they are registered on either 2 or 3 November.
Applications can be submitted online
The IEC provides several routes for applications.
Voters can apply through the Commission’s secure online special-vote system or visit their local IEC office and submit the prescribed form.
For voters applying to cast their special vote at their voting station, applications can also be made by sending their identity number by SMS to 32249. The IEC says the SMS costs R1.
The SMS method cannot be used to request a home visit.
A voter requesting a home visit can apply online or submit the relevant form through a local IEC office.
Someone else may hand-deliver the completed form on behalf of a voter who cannot personally reach the IEC office.
IEC special-vote application portal
Registration remains a requirement
Applying for a special vote does not provide an alternative route into the election for an unregistered voter.
Applicants must already be registered voters and must have a valid South African identity document.
Accepted identification includes a green barcoded ID book, smart ID card or valid temporary identity certificate.
The voters’ roll for the November election has already closed.
That means voters cannot now register for the election or change the voting district in which they are registered.
The special-vote process instead provides an alternative voting arrangement for people who are already on the certified voters’ roll.
Voting remains tied to registration
Municipal elections operate differently from national and provincial elections because a voter’s address determines the municipal and ward contests in which that person is entitled to participate.
The IEC therefore requires voting-station special voters to cast their ballots at the station where they are registered.
A voter who expects to be outside their voting district on 4 November cannot simply use another voting station elsewhere in the country.
Instead, an approved applicant can vote early at their registered station on 2 or 3 November.
For home visits, the location provided must similarly fall within the voter’s registered voting district.
Special ballots remain secret
Special votes are subject to additional administrative procedures because they are cast before ordinary election-day ballots are counted.
The IEC says voters first receive the ballot papers applicable to their municipal contest and mark them in secret.
The completed ballots are placed in an unmarked envelope.
That envelope is then placed inside a second envelope containing identifying information including the voter’s name, identity number and voting district.
The outer identifying envelope is removed before counting, maintaining the secrecy of the ballot.
The voter’s name is also marked on the voters’ roll to indicate that a special vote has already been cast, preventing that person from voting again on election day.
12 October deadline is final
The IEC has stressed that special votes require a formal application.
The application period closes at 17:00 on 12 October, and voters who miss the deadline cannot subsequently request a special vote.
Applicants will receive notification of whether their request has been approved.
The status of an application can also be checked through the IEC’s online system.
The Commission provides an SMS status-checking service on 32711, charged at R1.
Election preparations move towards ballot production
Opening special-vote applications follows the IEC’s certification last week of 136,790 candidates who met the statutory requirements to contest the municipal elections.
The candidates are competing for seats across South Africa’s eight metropolitan municipalities, 44 district municipalities and 205 local municipalities.
The next major election milestone comes on Wednesday, 23 September, when the IEC is scheduled to conduct its ballot-paper draw.
Political parties will also sign the Electoral Code of Conduct.
For the first time, the Commission says the process will include an additional code dealing specifically with measures to counter disinformation during the election campaign.
Candidate certificates are scheduled to be distributed electronically on 25 September.
Special voting precedes election day
The election timetable now leaves voters with three important dates.
Approved special voters will cast ballots on 2 and 3 November.
Ordinary voting takes place on 4 November 2026.
Unlike campaign milestones involving individual parties, the opening of special-vote applications affects voters in every municipality — including the closely contested metros of Johannesburg, Tshwane, Ekurhuleni, eThekwini, Cape Town, Nelson Mandela Bay, Mangaung and Buffalo City.
For voters who know they cannot reach their registered station on election day, the practical deadline is therefore not 4 November.
It is 17:00 on 12 October, when the opportunity to apply for a special vote closes.
