By: Natasha Archary

As South Africans prepare to make their mark in the 7th democratic elections on 29 May 2024, voters are urged to familiarise themselves with the 3 ballots they will receive this year.
For the first time, voters will receive an additional ballot paper in the National and Provincial elections, and will need to mark each ballot to complete their vote.
The three ballot papers are as follows:
National ballot
This ballot will consist of a list of political parties vying to fill the 200 seats in the National Assembly. This ballot will be used to vote for political parties. There are currently 52 parties who will be on this ballot and the configuration will be a dual column.
Regional or province-to-national ballot
This will have political parties and independent candidates contesting for the seats reserved for each province in the National Assembly.
Voters will use this ballot to elect a political party or an independent candidate to represent them in the National Assembly. The number of contestants range from 30 to 44 on regional ballots. This ballot has just one column.
Provincial ballots
This ballot is unique to each province and includes parties and independent candidates competing for seats in each respective provincial legislature. This ballot will allow voters to choose either a political party or an independent candidate to represent them in provincial legislatures. The number of contestants range from 24 to 45 on the provincial legislatures ballots.
WATCH: The 3 ballots explained
Familiarise yourself with the 3 ballots
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