We’ve spent much of this week covering politics, both local and abroad (thanks, Donald), and tomorrow we’ll all be lining up to cast our vote.

Some say it’s a bit of a ballache, what with the mountain and the sea calling on a public holiday, but the old adage that ‘every vote counts’ has never been more true.

Things are set to hard-fought right across the country, but nowhere more so than Johannesburg, Tshwane and PE (Nelson Mandela Bay Metro).

Crunch the numbers with the help of BD Live:

The pre-election Pulse of the People poll was conducted in June and July. The study consisted of 3,861 interviews with a representative sample of South Africans. The margin of error for this sample size is between 0.7% and 1.6%…

The report concludes that…the DA will exceed ANC votes in the contested Nelson Mandela Bay Metro (44% to 37%), but receive fewer votes in Tshwane and Johannesburg (47% to 43%, and 46% to 41%). The EFF will receive between 6% and 9% across these metros, the report reads.

That doesn’t mean Cape Town can take it easy, of course, but the biggest issue in those fiercely contested metros is parties making sure their supporters actually turn up:

Critical to the parties’ performances, however, will be ensuring that their supporters turn out to vote. Voters are less likely to vote in local government polls than in national polls — a trend that is seen in SA and internationally. Turnout in the 2011 municipal polls was 57.5%.

Ipsos [a research company] puts a low turnout at 10.2-million voters, and medium at 17.5-million. More then 25-million people are registered to vote on Wednesday.

Those millions of people registered who don’t turn up – well, I guess we’ll never know.

You’re not a bad person if you tell your friend they’re being shitty by not voting. You’re not a bad person if you drag someone out of bed and make them stand in line with you. You’re not a bad person if you call an Uber and have it drive you to a voting station at a reduced cost (HERE).

You’re a bit of a twat, though, if you just can’t be bothered.

[source:bdlive]