SAns split on proposal to introduce electronic voting: IEC

JOHANNESBURG - The Independent Electoral Commission (IEC) said South Africans have shown mixed views on a proposal to introduce electronic voting.

The commission has been holding public consultations across the country to gauge whether voters would accept casting their ballots electronically.

The introduction of e-voting was among several matters discussed at a media briefing in Centurion on Tuesday.

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During last year’s national and provincial elections, the IEC encountered various challenges with the traditional voting method, mainly due to technical glitches from voter management devices.

The issues resulted in long queues at multiple voting stations, and in some cases, voters were still waiting to cast their ballots past midnight on election day.

It’s believed that electronic voting could help address these problems.

However, IEC Deputy Chief Electoral Officer, Masego Sheburi, said it’s currently unclear whether voters are ready for the move.

"The feedback has been mixed, which illustrates the varying understanding of what e-voting is and what it can do for the elections. To this end, the workshop gave us an opportunity to create a common understanding of what e-voting is, as well as the varied technologies that underpin e-voting.

He said the IEC has now ruled out the possibility of introducing e-voting at next year’s local government elections, but a decision will soon be made on whether it should be implemented in 2029.