South Africa s Electoral

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1 GIS and its role at the Electoral Commission by Clare van Zwieten, EE Publishers GIS plays an important role in enabling the Electoral Commission to fulfil its mandate to impartially manage free and fair elections at all levels of government. This article looks at the role played by the GIS Unit at the Electoral Commission in preparing for the upcoming national and provincial elections on 7 May South Africa s Electoral Commission, widely referred to as the IEC, is a permanent body tasked by the South African Constitution with safe guarding and protecting the country s democracy. While publicly funded and accountable to Parliament, the IEC is an independent body. Its main function is to organise and impartially manage free and fair elections at all levels of government. The IEC must fulfil its mandate with impartiality, and all individuals responsible for the management of elections are required to be independent, impartial, transparent and accountable in their functioning. The commission employs approximately 1000 full-time employees at national, provincial and municipal levels. As preparations for the elections gear up, more people are hired to work as registration officials, fieldworkers, presiding officials and other election officials. The IEC works closely with its counterparts on the African continent, and elsewhere in the world. It is an active member of various regional and international bodies dealing with elections, such as the SADC Electoral Commissions Forum and the International Institute for Democracy Fig. 1: Mapped voters roll for Tshwane s Ward 62. PositionIT March

2 and Electoral Assistance (International IDEA). Elections Delivering successful national and provincial elections is possible due to a complex mix of legal, administrative and logistical processes. Preparations for the 2014 elections started with a thorough review of the 2009 elections. The challenges encountered during the 2009 elections and the implemented solutions were examined and evaluated. The resulting lessons learnt were then used to develop and enhance existing systems in order to increase the IEC s efficient and transparent management of the elections The IEC makes every effort to ensure that all eligible South Africans can cast their votes as easily as possible. Regular delimitation projects are conducted to identify voting districts and to conveniently locate voting stations in each voting district. This enables the commission to reduce the number of voters per voting station and to cut down on travelling time to voting stations. Voting stations In order to maintain a stable network Fig. 2: Members of the IEC s GIS Unit. of voting stations across the country, a large number of venues used in previous elections have been, and will be used, for registration and voting in The IEC has established that using the same venue consistently provides voters with a stable point of reference, enabling them to recognise and associate a single venue in a particular voting district with electoral activities. The IEC gives preference to permanent or fixed buildings as voting stations,and these generally comprise the following types of venues: schools, community and other halls, places of worship, tribal authorities, hospitals, clinics, old age homes, farms, sports clubs, hostels, libraries, mines, museums, police stations, post offices, private houses and garages. In areas where no suitable buildings exist, sites are identified for the erection of temporary voting stations typically a tent on a vacant piece of land. In voting districts where single, fixed voting stations would have been Fig. 3: This voting district map was compiled for voter registration weekend 2 for the Blackheath Community Hall in the Western Cape. It includes a barcode which represents the voting district number. 40 PositionIT March 2014

3 Fig. 4: A delimination working map of the City of Johannesburg s Ward 76. inadequate due to the vastness of the area or a widely scattered population, mobile voting stations are used. A mobile voting station travels through a voting district on a pre-determined route, and stops at predetermined points and at pre-determined and publicly advertised times. This is a cost-effective way of bringing a voting station within reach of voters in very large voting districts. The IEC tries to keep the number of temporary and mobile stations to an absolute minimum. National common voters roll South Africa s Constitution stipulates that all elections in the country national, provincial and municipal must be based on a national common voters roll. In order to achieve this, citizens who are 16 years and older are required to register as voters at a place where they are ordinarily resident so that their names are geographically linked to the appropriate segment of the voters roll (see Fig. 1). In terms of section 24 of the Electoral Act, the voters roll to be used in an election is the one in existence on the date that the election is proclaimed. Consequently, all registration opportunities ceased after the election day of 7 May 2014 was proclaimed. The Electoral Act provides for the creation of voting districts where one voting district (VD) has one voting station (VS) and represents one segment of the national common voters roll. The national common voters' roll is supported by the accurate mapping and distribution of bar-coded voting district maps which are created by the IEC s GIS Unit. The GIS Unit GIS technology has been used at the IEC since 1997 as an effective tool for the delimitation of voting districts and the plotting of voting station locations. The GIS Unit is primarily responsible for spatially maintaining, enhancing and ensuring the integrity of the voting districts and associated voting stations and to produce thousands of maps in support of delimitation and voter registration processes. These maps are then distributed to the public, to inform them of the appropriate voting district and station at which to register and vote, as well as to IEC officials and political party representatives. The GIS Unit consists of six permanent personnel and is headed up by James Aphane. In the two years prior to an election, this staff component increases to approximately 30 personnel. Spatial data The GIS Unit provides spatial management reporting maps and customised GIS software solutions to assist other IEC units with election planning, logistics planning and progress monitoring, registration reporting and results presentation. The GIS Unit is also responsible for maintaining additional supporting data sets including aerial and satellite imagery, cadastral information, topographic information, and georeferenced physical address data. Geospatial data is sourced from the following organisations: National Geo-spatial Information, the Chief Surveyor General s Office, the South African National Space Agency, Statistics South Africa, Eskom, municipalities and private companies such as AfriGIS and Knowledge Factory. In order to maintain the accuracy of its spatial datasets, the GIS Unit at PositionIT March

4 Fig. 5: Total registration activity for weekend 1: 9 and 10 November the IEC continually updates its existing basemap, investigates new data sets, and quality assures all data sets before incorporating them into the GIS. Improved satellite imagery coverage of South Africa over the last few years has played an important role in revealing discrepancies in the IEC s voting district and voting station layers and layers from the Municipal Dermarcation Board (MDB) (ward and municipal). Prior to the 2009 elections, each of these data sets was subjected to extensive checks, comparisons and impact analyses before voting districts were amended and incorporated into the IEC s corporate geographic database. As a result, over 4500 A1-size delimitation working maps were produced for comment and signed-off by local party liaison structures throughout the country before being distributed to the 237 municipal officers in place for the 2009 elections. Further checking of these data sets has taken place in the build-up to the 2014 elections. Maps Spatial management-reporting maps produced by the GIS Unit are used to track IEC projects, analyse processes and display information in a visual format that is easily interpreted by a range of IEC officials across the organisation. Approximately different maps were produced by the GIS Unit in preparation for the 2009 elections, and a similar number will be produced for the 2014 elections. These maps are used to depict voter registration patterns after general registration events, to track staff appointments, determine distribution strategies for the zip-zip barcode scanners and to notify users of voting station locations. Municipal orientation maps are used at municipal offices and are also published in local newspapers to assist voters in finding their correct voting stations. Bar-coded voting district maps (for registration) and voting station orientation maps (showing neighbouring voting districts and stations) were also produced for use during the two weekend registration events. Fig. 3 depicts a voting district map created for the Blackheath Community Hall in the Province VDs: NPE 1999 VDs: NPE 2004 VDs: NPE 2009 VDs: NPE 2014 Eastern Cape Free State Gauteng KwaZulu Natal Limpopo Mpumalanga North West Northern Cape Western Cape TOTAL Table. 1: Inter-election changes in the geography of voting districts (VDs) for elections. 42 PositionIT March 2014

5 Western Cape for the voter registration weekend held in February this year. Data sharing The GIS Unit is also responsible for ensuring that spatial information is made available through GIS software over the intranet (GIS-on-Desktop) and the web-based Voting Station Finder. The Voting Station Finder enables users, who provide their address information, to identify the correct voting station, and provides precise descriptions of the area and as well as directions to the voting station concerned. A stand-alone Windows-based Voting Station Finder is used at the IEC s national call centre, and of the more than calls relating to voting station locations during the 2009 election period, 70% were resolved with the aid of the VS Finder. Additional responsibilities of the unit include the dissemination of results reports, delimitation information and distance calculations to the IEC s offices around the country, and the production of interactive electronic maps to facilities for checking whether voting station coordinates are inside or outside the intended voting district. The unit's mapping facility is also used extensively to display results and progress maps at the National Results Operations Centre and the nine Provincial Results Centres. The GIS Unit also provides spatial data sets to a range of media outlets for their election reporting. Delimitation The Electoral Act (No. 73 of 1998) requires the IEC to compile and maintain a national common voters roll. Voters are required to register to vote at the voting district in which they are ordinarily resident, and each voting district is serviced by one voting station. On voting day, voters will only find their names on the unique voting district portion of the national common voters roll at the voting station where they applied to register to vote. The reason for this is to ensure that voters do not have to wait for unreasonably long periods in queues; to ensure that voters do not vote more than once in an election; and to assist the IEC in allocating an accurate quantity of election materials and staff for each voting station on election day. In preparation for 2014 elections, the GIS Unit reviews the functionality of the IEC s voting district and voting station network taking into account geographical changes to human settlements brought about by urbanisation, circulatory migration, intra-urban migration, and the spread of informal settlements. These demographic changes require voting district boundaries to be adjusted in order to cater for changes in the shapes of existing human settlements and the growth of new settlements. There were voting districts set-up for the 2009 elections a 35% increase in the number of voting districts when compared to the 1999 elections,and a 16% increase when compared to the 2004 elections. Preparations for the 2014 elections has seen the number of voting districts increase to In addition to improving voter access to voting stations, the increase in voting districts and stations has meant that voters spend less time waiting in queues to vote at voting stations. The average number of registered voters per voting station in the 1999 elections was This figure decreased to 1219 in the 2004 elections, and fell again to 1175 registered voters per voting station in the 2009 elections. For Fig. 6: Total registration activity for weekend 2: 8 and 9 February PositionIT March

6 the 2014 elections, this number has dropped to Research commissioned by the Electoral Commission and conducted by the Human Sciences Research Council (HSRC) in 2009 revealed that 86% of voters were able to get to their voting stations in 30 minutes or less in the 2009 elections. Furthermore, 80% of voters queued at their voting station for 60 minutes or less while waiting to vote. Moreover, 90% of rural voters queued for 60 minutes or less compared to only 67% of urban voters. The HSRC research also highlighted the fact that the IEC needs to focus on improving voter access to voting stations in urban informal settlements and formal urban areas where, respectively, 41% and 26% of voters waited in queues at their voting stations for more than one hour. In reaction to this research, the IEC introduced a new concept known as voting centres. Voting centres will be used as substations for voting stations that cannot be subdivided into new voting districts. It is hoped that these voting centres will reduce the time that voters in urban areas have had to queue in previous elections. An example of a voting district that will have these voting centres is Joubert Park in Johannesburg. As mentioned previously, the GIS Unit's primary responsibility is the delimitation and maintenance of the voting district network and the associated voting stations. This involves aligning voting districts with ward and municipal boundaries, and the provision of accurate bar-coded maps to support the registration process. As part of its mandate to ensure the delivery of free and fair elections, the IEC liaises with political parties through Party Liaison Committees (PLCs). Accordingly, during the delimitation process Municipal PLCs are consulted on the boundaries of voting districts and on the location of voting stations. In urban areas, approximately 3000 voting age persons are grouped within a 7,5 km travel distance from a voting station, and in rural areas, approximately 1200 voting age persons are grouped within a 10 km travel distance from a voting station.the GIS Unit ensures that voting districts are as square as possible to ensure that a voting station in the centre of the voting district will be equally accessible to all voters. In addition, care has to be taken that railways, major roads, rivers, and so on do not cut through voting districts and hinder voters access to voting stations. Fig. 4 depicts a delimination working map created by the GIS Unit for the City of Johannesburg s Ward 76. Once the delimitation process for a voting district is finalised, the GIS Unit creates a voting district map (see Fig. 3) which includes a barcode representing the voting district number. This barcode is captured during the registration process and assists in the creation of an accurate voters roll. Targeted communication and registration (TCR) An increase in the number of voting districts, as well as changes to voting district boundaries as a result of municipal ward re-demarcation by the Municipal Demarcation Board, results in the IEC embarking on Targeted Communication and Registration (TCR) projects prior to elections. This is done to ensure that affected Fig. 7: Map reflecting the % difference between registration weekends 1 and PositionIT March 2014

7 voters are made aware of these changes and have the opportunity to re-register in the correct voting district. TCR projects are usually carried out 12 to 18 months before an election. TCRs were carried out in approximately 4000 VDs in the build-up to the 2014 elections. The IEC employs fieldworkers in door-to-door registration campaigns in the affected voting districts, and in cases where people are not at home, pamphlets are left informing the occupants that the voting district has changed and that the voters need to re-register either at the local offices of the IEC or at their voting stations during registration weekends. Once the TCRs have been carried out, the GIS Unit and other IEC units start preparing for the voter registration weekends. General registration weekends for the 2014 elections In the build-up to the 2014 elections, the IEC hosted two registration weekends on 9 to 10 November 2013 and on 8 to 9 February All of the IEC s voting stations were opened to allow eligible South African citizens to apply for registration ( new registrations ) or to update their registration details in cases where they had changed their place of ordinary residence ( VD move ). Many voters re-registered at these events even though their details had not changed ( reregistration, same VD ). Work carried out by the GIS Unit, as well as other IEC units, facilitated an efficient and speedy registration process; the capturing of accurate data for the voters' roll and as well as the provision of the same level of service for urban or rural registration applicants. At the registration point, a scanning device, known as a zip-zip, was used in conjunction with the voting district map (see Fig. 3) to ensure that registration took place in an efficient and effective manner. First the zip-zip was used to scan the operator's identity document barcode, and then the voting district barcode. Next the registration applicant's identity number was scanned from their bar-coded identity document, and the applicant was then automatically linked to the correct voting district. After the registration event, the zip-zips were linked to workstations at the municipal offices and the data transmitted to the IEC s head office. After being processed, the name, surname and status of the registration applicant was retrieved from the National Population Register (NPR), and on qualifying as a voter (i.e. valid South African citizen, 18 years or older), their details were added to the relevant section of the voters' roll. The GIS Unit reports that the first registration weekend for the 2014 elections resulted in a total of new voters registered over the two days and re-registrations from different voting districts (see Fig. 5), and that the second registration weekend resulted in new registrations and re-registrations from different voting districts (see Fig. 6). Voting day and voting results On election day, all voters are scanned using the voter participation application loaded on the zip-zip scanners. Each scanner is loaded with the entire voters roll and electoral staff are easily able to identify people who are registered at other voting stations and direct them to their correct voting stations. Once voters IDs had been scanned, they are given a sequence number which they hand to the voters roll officer. The sequence number makes it easy for the officer to find the voter on the voters roll. Capturing ID numbers of people who voted on election day also helps the IEC to understand the demographics of people who voted. Using the captured ID numbers, the GIS Unit produces maps reflecting the age and gender of voters which enables the IEC to design targeted voter education and communication campaigns for future elections. In addition to this, the commission will gain a better understanding of voting time patterns and obtain insights into the peak times when voters arrive to cast their votes The GIS Unit supports the voting day procedures by monitoring the opening and closing of voter stations. Maps reflecting the voter station openings and closing are displayed and fed through to the Tshwane IEC events centre. The unit provides a range of voting reports as the results are finalised, they also compile comparison reports reflecting data from previous elections. The GIS Unit's final task is to produce an Atlas of Results which, on finalisation, is distributed to academic institutions and political parties. Once the elections are over and all associated work is complete, the GIS Directorate get back to work on checking the voter district boundaries and the whole work cycle starts all over again in preparation for the next round of elections. References [1] Interview with James Aphane, Electoral Commission. [2] IEC Election Report [3] AfriGIS: GIS support for the 2011 local government elections, PositionIT April/May Send your comments to: positionit@ee.co.za PositionIT March