The dog ate my little green bar-coded ID. Pretty lame, huh? It's right up there with all the other excuses that South Africans give for not voting — my vote won't make a difference; I don't have anyone to vote for; and I have better things to do with my public holiday.

Hmm... better things than choosing who should govern our country? That's one helluva braai.

Apathy is an inexcusable political position and while I am tempted to rant, space dictates that I keep the argument pithy. So, here are three infallible reasons why you should vote:

• Far too many people have died fighting for the right to vote for you to treat it with contempt or indifference.
• Voting is the cornerstone of a democracy.
• Unless you vote, you have no right to complain about the government you get stuck with. If there are no parties or candidates that appeal to you, spoil your vote to demonstrate your dissatisfaction.

Good. Now that we're all on the same page, let's get down to the real business of this little piece — voter registration.

If you want to vote in South Africa, you need to be on the Voters' Roll. The point of the Voters' Roll is to prevent electoral fraud. Currently there are 20 164 609 registered voters in South Africa — the majority of these are female (approximately two million more females than males) and fall between the ages of 20 and 49.

If you are a new voter, you need to register with the Independent Electoral Commission (IEC) to make sure that you are on the Voters' Roll. If you have moved since the last election, you need to re-register so that when you go to vote you will be registered in the correct voting district.

The IEC is holding a voter registration weekend on 8 and 9 November, when every voting station in the country (there are 19 713) will be open from 8am to 5pm to give new voters the chance to register.

What you will need:

• You must apply for registration in person


• You must be a South African citizen and have a bar-coded ID or a valid temporary identity certificate (TIC).

Out of the country?

South African citizens who will be out of the country at the time of the election can also register, but only under certain circumstances. If you have left the country to work and live in another country, you will not be able to vote. However, if you are going to be temporarily out of the country on holiday, for business, attending a tertiary institution or an international sporting event, you may vote abroad.

In order to do this you need to register before you leave the country and apply to cast a special vote. If you qualify, you need to inform the IEC within 15 days of the proclamation of the election date where you will be and where the closest South African embassy is.

Check your registration

Not sure if you are registered or if you are registered in the correct district? The IEC has made checking your registration details easy. Contact the call centre on the toll free number 0800 11 8000 or SMS your ID number to 32810. Alternatively, you can visit the website, enter your ID number and access your registration details immediately.

Seriously, it couldn't be more simple.