1.3 million special votes cast as fake ballot-box videos spread online

More than 1.3 million voters had cast their special votes by midday on Tuesday, the second and last day of special voting in the 2026 Local Government Elections, the Electoral Commission said.

Voting stations opened at 8am and were due to close at 5pm, with home visit teams continuing their schedule as planned, Chief Electoral Officer Sy Mamabolo told a media briefing in Midrand. Special voting began on Monday, 2 November.

Mamabolo said special voters who could not reach their voting stations by 5pm would be allowed to vote on Voting Day, 4 November 2026.

He reminded voters that municipal elections differ from national and provincial elections. Depending on the municipality where they are registered, voters receive either two or three ballot papers, each representing a separate vote that must be marked individually.

“The Commission reminds voters to make one X in the box next to their preferred candidate or political party per ballot paper. Marking more than one choice or making addition marks may result in a ballot being spoilt,” he said.

“Make your choice carefully, ensure that you are marking the correct ballot paper and fold each completed ballot before placing it in the appropriate ballot box.”

The Commission said every voting station is equipped with single and double column Universal Ballot Templates so that blind and visually impaired voters can cast an independent, secret vote across the different ballot paper lengths. Presiding officers assisting a blind voter will read out the numbers as they align to the template windows, which are not necessarily in sequential order, Mamabolo said.

Alongside the voting logistics, the Commission reported growing attempts to cast doubt on the integrity of the process, particularly on social media. Its information integrity hub, over the past 24 hours, identified what it described as unsubstantiated election fraud pronouncements by some, which it said had led to supporters posting videos of presiding officers and staff moving special vote ballots from carrying boxes and bags into the main ballot box after home visits.

The videos, the Commission said, are shared without context alongside claims that something untoward is happening.

“We urge citizens not to take any such social posts at face value, and to check the context before sharing. If you come across content that looks false or misleading, including AI-generated material, report it at www.real411.org.za,” Mamabolo said.

The Commission appealed to political parties to avoid inflammatory remarks that misrepresent standard procedures for voting and the handling of election materials. Where parties and candidates pick up problems by election officials, the Commission said, they should use the established reporting mechanisms so that it can trigger the appropriate measures. It said it had already acted swiftly against election officials who fell short of carrying out their duties.

Real411, the platform for reporting digital harms, registered 34 complaints in the period, covering misinformation and disinformation, incitement to violence, hate speech and harassment. X accounted for 58.8% of the complaints, TikTok 23.5%, and Facebook and WhatsApp 8.8% each, the Commission said.

This report is based on SAnews (South African Government News Agency), the government’s own summary of the Commission’s briefing rather than a transcript of the proceedings: https://www.sanews.gov.za/south-africa/over-13-million-cast-special-votes-iec-warns-against-misinformation