A post-2024 general elections reflection: evaluating South Africans’ views on the prospects of implementing e-voting

Abstract

The 2024 general election in South Africa was one of the most contested elections in the country’s history. Though the Electoral Commission was steadfast in support of its electoral systems, aggrieved parties disputed election results and questioned the efficacy and fairness of the Commission. Reports of malfunctioning voter management devices and voters’ roll issues exposed vulnerabilities in voting technology infrastructure. These issues call for the Electoral Commission to consider implementing more modern, secure and resilient electoral systems, such as electronic voting. This consideration of new technology falls in line with a global trend towards e-voting adoption, which has the potential to increase the efficiency of elections, simplify the voting process and nurture democracy if implemented successfully. Recent public opinion data indicates a positive view of the potential for e-voting in South Africa, with the prevailing perspective that e-voting could make elections freer, fairer and more effective. This study mainly employ secondary data analysis of the Electoral Commission Voter Participation Survey (VPS) conducted from 2013 to 2023 to assess public preferences of e-voting and whether the South African government should consider implementing it. Additional data from the 2024 IEC e-voting online survey are included to clarify South Africans’ perceptions of e-voting. With careful consideration of public attitudes towards electronic voting innovation in future elections, South Africa can strengthen its democratic process and serving as a model for free, fair and credible elections in the region and globally.