A driving licence will not get anyone into a voting booth on Wednesday, 4 November. According to the Department of Home Affairs and the Electoral Commission of South Africa (IEC), as reported by SAnews, BusinessTech and EWN, the identity documents accepted for the Local Government Elections are a smart ID card, a green barcoded ID book or a valid temporary identity certificate. For employers, the date also matters for a second reason, because the President has declared it a public holiday.
The three IDs accepted at the voting station
According to SAnews, reporting a recent Home Affairs statement, registered voters can only vote if they hold an acceptable identity document, “including a smart ID card, green barcoded ID book or valid temporary identity certificate”. BusinessTech paraphrases the department as saying only those three can be used. The same report says driver’s licences, passports, student cards and photocopies of ID documents are not accepted for voting purposes. BusinessTech carried the same warning on 28 October.
The IEC’s own How to vote guide says an official at the door of the voting station checks for a valid identification document, which it lists as a green barcoded ID book, smart-card ID or temporary ID certificate. The official then scans it and issues a slip confirming the person is a registered voter. SAnews, quoting the IEC, says voters are cautioned not to bring driver’s licences, passports, student cards or photocopies.
Voting hours and special votes
According to the IEC, as reported in an SAnews explainer, voting stations are open from 07:00 to 21:00 on 4 November, and special voting takes place on 2 and 3 November from 08:00 to 17:00. SAnews also reported that the IEC has approved 2 655 067 special vote applications.
Voters can only vote at the station where they are registered. The Presidency said voters cannot transfer their votes to stations outside their designated wards if they travel. SAnews, citing the IEC, says voters can check their details on the IEC site at elections.org.za, by sending their 13-digit ID number by SMS to 32810, or by sending “Hi” to the IEC WhatsApp number 060 088 0000.
Getting a replacement ID this week
Home Affairs urges anyone who still needs to replace a lost or damaged ID to use its offices or the more than 450 participating bank branches “and not wait until the last minute”, according to the SAnews report. EWN reports that Home Affairs offices will run from 08:00 to 18:00 from 2 to 4 November, with an earlier 07:00 opening and a 21:00 close on election day. The extended hours are meant to help voters collect outstanding IDs, apply for new ones or obtain temporary identity certificates where applicable.
BusinessTech reports that Minister Leon Schreiber said bank-branch Smart ID services reached 669 branches this week. SAnews instead gives the figure as more than 450 participating bank branches, and says that together with Home Affairs offices there are around 1 000 locations where a Smart ID can be applied for. The sources differ on the branch count, and we have not seen a Home Affairs release that settles it. Schreiber also said the digital partnership will be expanded before the end of the year to include adult and minor passports and first-time Smart ID applications, with home delivery of IDs as the next milestone.
What it means for employers and staff
The President has declared 4 November a public holiday under Section 2A of the Public Holidays Act of 1994, SAnews reports, and he has urged employers to make provision for employees to exercise their constitutional right to vote. For businesses that operate on public holidays, such as retail, hospitality, security and healthcare, that request is practical rather than abstract. With stations open from 07:00 to 21:00, managers have room to roster shifts so staff can vote at their registered station. The sources we read do not set out a legal entitlement to paid time off to vote, and pay for work on a public holiday is a separate matter for employment contracts and the Department of Employment and Labour, so check those directly. Our earlier report covers the public holiday declaration.
A short checklist is worthwhile. Remind staff which three documents count. Ask anyone who relies on a licence as their everyday ID to apply for a Smart ID now, and note that Home Affairs is also asking people who already have IDs to encourage colleagues to apply. Our report on the green ID book deadline of 31 March 2028 explains why the switch to a Smart ID is coming anyway.
A wider move against licences as everyday ID
Separately from the election rules, BusinessTech reports that the Department of Transport plans to amend the National Road Traffic Regulations to stop traffic register number certificates, learner’s licences and driving licences being used as identity documents. According to the department, an investigation with Home Affairs found widespread abuse, and using these documents as general ID is contrary to the Identification Act of 1997, which makes Home Affairs the sole authority for the National Population Register and for issuing identification documents. If the amendments are approved, banks, offices, residential estates and other places that now accept a licence as ID would only be able to use it for road-traffic transactions. This is a plan, not yet in force, and the sources do not give a date. More policy coverage is in our Regulatory & Policy section.
