ELECTORAL ACT ____________________________________________________________________________________ (iii) then fold the ballot paper so that the official mark is visible and the names of the candidates and the cross made by him or her are not visible and drop the ballot paper in the ballot box placed in front of the presiding officer: Provided that, if he or she has spoilt the ballot paper, he or she may return it to the presiding officer in terms of section fifty-eight and shall deal with the second ballot paper given to him or her in accordance with this paragraph. [Subparagraph amended by s. 26 of Act No. 6 of 2014] 58 Spoilt ballot papers If a voter inadvertently spoils a ballot paper, he or she may return it to the presiding officer who shall, if satisfied of the inadvertence, give the voter another ballot paper and retain the spoilt paper, and the spoilt paper shall be immediately cancelled and the fact of the cancellation shall be noted upon the counterfoil. 59 Voting by illiterate or physically handicapped voters (1) Upon request by a voter who is illiterate or physically handicapped and cannot vote in the way set out in section 57, a presiding officer shall— (a) permit another person, selected by the voter, to assist the voter in exercising his or her vote; or (b) in the absence of a person selected by the voter, assist the voter in exercising his or her vote in the presence of two other electoral officers or employees of the Commission and a police officer on duty. (2) A person permitted to assist a voter in terms of subsection (1)(a)— (a) need not be a registered voter but shall not be a minor, electoral officer, accredited observer, chief election agent, election agent or a candidate in the election; and (b) shall identify himself or herself to the presiding officer by producing proof of identity, and shall complete and sign the register referred to in subsection (3); and (c) shall not be permitted to assist more than one voter in any election. (3) For the purposes of subsection (2)(b), every presiding officer shall keep a special register in which shall be recorded the name of every person whom the presiding officer permits to assist a voter in terms of subsection (1)(a), relevant particulars of the proof of identity produced by that person, and the name of the voter assisted by that person. (4) A presiding officer permitted to assist a voter in terms of subsection (1)(b), together with the other persons there mentioned, shall there and then mark the ballot paper in accordance with the voter’s wishes and place the ballot paper in the ballot box, and if the wishes of the voter as to the manner in which the vote is to be marked on the ballot paper are not sufficiently clear to enable the vote to be so marked, the presiding officer may cause such questions to be put to the voter as in his or her opinion, are necessary to clarify the voter’s intentions. (5) No person other than— (a) the person selected by the voter in terms of subsection (1)(a) shall take part in assisting an illiterate or physically handicapped voter, and no person who is entitled to be in a polling station shall attempt to ascertain how the voter is voting; or [Paragraph amended by s. 25 of Act No. 6 of 2018] (b) the presiding officer selected by the voter in terms of subsection (1)(b) and the persons there mentioned shall assist an illiterate or physically handicapped voter. (6) The presiding officer shall cause the name of every voter who has been assisted in terms of subsection (1)(a) or (b), and the reason why that voter has been assisted, to be entered on a list. [Section substituted by s. 19 of Act No. 3 of 2012] [60 Voting by physically incapacitated voters] [Section repealed by s. 19 of Act No. 3 of 2012] 80

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