The Delimitation Directorate is responsible for delimiting (subdividing) the entire geographic area of South Africa into voting districts, with the assistance of a Geographical Information System or GIS (an electronic mapping system), which is managed by the IEC’s GIS Directorate. Show
What is a voting district?A voting district is a geographical area that we draw to minimise fraud (registered voters voting more than once in an election), and to make administration more efficient. Each voting district is serviced by one voting station only. You may only register and vote in the voting district in which you live. Once registered, your name will appear only on the Voters’ Roll for the voting district at which you registered. This minimises the possibility of a voter voting more than once in an election. How are voting districts determined?Voting districts are delimited to minimise voter inconvenience (voters having to stand in long queues at voting stations), and to assist us in logistical planning. Voting districts are principally determined on the basis of geographical size and number of eligible voters. Urban voting districts contain some 3,000 voters located within a radius of some 7,5 km of the voting station. Rural voting districts accommodate some 1,200 voters located within a radius of some 10 km of the voting station. What is demarcation?The concepts "delimitation" and "demarcation" are often used interchangeably. For the purposes of electoral management, the drawing of (outer) municipal boundaries is called demarcation and is the legal responsibility of the Municipal Demarcation Board (MDB). The MDB also draws municipal ward boundaries and this is referred to as delimitation. The drawing of electoral districts (such as voting districts and wards) is known as "delimitation". The IEC’s voting districts do not have political significance (as do wards), but have been created for electoral efficiency and planning purposes. Why do voting districts change?Many voting districts change shape due to various geographical, population and political changes that take place between elections. When delimiting voting districts, we access various data sources (topographic, cadastral, census information), including the Surveyor-General, the Department of Land Affairs and Statistics SA. Before an election, our municipal representatives inspect maps of voting districts in municipalities in order to align the geography of voting districts with local geographic, settlement, demographic and political changes that may have occurred since the previous election. Voting districts must also be aligned to new boundaries determined by the Municipal Demarcation Board. Our municipal representatives also locate and confirm voting stations in each voting district. This is done in conjunction with municipal political party representatives. How do I know if my voting district has changed?Check your voter registration status online. All of your registration details will be displayed, including your voting district and station. If you have moved to a new home, you're most likely in a different voting district. To find out, go to our online voting station finder and search for your street name or suburb. The map will display your voting district boundaries and the location of your voting station. If your voting district has indeed changed, you need to re-register in your new district (see How do I register). Learn more about the 3 types of elections: General electionsGeneral elections are always held the first Tuesday, after the first Monday, in November.
In odd-numbered years, like 2021, these November elections are also called municipal elections because there are no federal or state office on the ballot. Every four years, the General Election is also a presidential election. Primary electionsPrimary elections in Pennsylvania are held on the third Tuesday of May in most years. In presidential years, the primary election is held on the fourth Tuesday of April. In a primary election, each political party selects its candidates to run for office during the general election. The candidates who get the highest number of votes in the primary election go on to run in the general election . Voters also vote for their party’s officers during a primary election. In Pennsylvania, you can only vote for the candidates in the same political party you have named in your voter registration. For example, if you registered to vote as a member of the Republican Party then you can vote in the Republican primary, but not the Democratic primary. All voters can vote on:
Special electionsPennsylvania holds special elections when someone in office can no longer serve. This may happen when someone resigns, dies, or gets removed from office. Voters must select someone to replace that person. Special elections may be held:
The county or counties running the special election must advertise the date and locations for the special election, as well as the candidates running for office. Everyone who lives in the district the candidates will represent can vote in the special election. Presidential elections and the Electoral CollegeIn presidential elections, each political party holds a national convention where they choose their nominee for president. The results of the primary election determine how votes from Pennsylvania are cast at the convention. The nominees from each party run against each other in the general election in November. The president is officially elected by the Electoral College, and not the popular vote. But the popular vote – including your vote – helps decide which candidate receives Pennsylvania's electoral votes. What is the Electoral College?The Electoral College is a group of citizens known as electors. Electors get appointed by each state to cast votes for the president and vice president of the United States on behalf of the state’s citizens. Pennsylvania has 20 electoral votes. All 20 of Pennsylvania’s electoral votes go to the person who won the popular vote in Pennsylvania. When you cast your vote for president, you tell your state’s electors to cast their votes for the candidate you chose. In Pennsylvania, each candidate for president chooses a list of electors. The electors for the candidate who wins Pennsylvania’s popular vote get to cast their vote for president and vice president. The Constitution created the Electoral College to ensure that each state had a role in selecting the president, no matter its population. Each state has the same number of
electoral votes as it has members of Congress. There are a total of 538 votes in the Electoral College. A candidate must win a simple majority - 270 - of those votes to win the election. Learn more about:Who is the electorate?When people cast their vote, they are actually voting for a group of people called electors. The number of electors each state gets is equal to its total number of Senators and Representatives in Congress. A total of 538 electors form the Electoral College. Each elector casts one vote following the general election.
What does plurality mean in government?A plurality vote (in American English) or relative majority (in the United Kingdom and Commonwealth) describes the circumstance when a candidate or proposition polls more votes than any other but does not receive more than half of all votes cast.
What are the 3 different types of voting systems?According to a 2006 survey of electoral system experts, their preferred electoral systems were in order of preference: Mixed member proportional. Single transferable vote. Open list proportional.
What do you mean by proportional system of representation?Party list proportional representation is an electoral system in which seats are first allocated to parties based on vote share, and then assigned to party-affiliated candidates on the parties' electoral lists.
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