South African Election Satisfaction Survey (ESS) 2004: Voters - All provinces

Description:
This data set contains responses of South African legible voters in the 2004 national and provincial assembly elections aged 18 years and older.

All 200 selected voting stations were visited on election day. The number of voters interviewed was 14 227 and the data set contains 26 variables.

The questionnaire questions included the distance traveled to the voting station, means of transport utilised, time spent in the voting queue, perception of IEC officials' competence, and perception of the freeness and fairness of the election.
Abstract:
The objective of the 2004 Election Satisfaction Survey (ESS) -Voters was to determine opinions and perceptions of voters on election eay. The main intention of the survey was to determine if elections were free and fair. A further aim of the study was to assess the operational efficiency of the Electoral Commission in managing the 2004 national and provincial assembly elections.

The study method comprised brief (5-minute) interviews with 50 to 70 randomly selected voters exiting from 200 randomly selected voting stations. Voters were asked eleven questions concerning their experiences on election day.

The prime target population was therefore individuals aged 18+ who reside in South Africa and who were registered to vote in the 2004 National Elections and voted. As voters exited these voting stations they were interviewed.

The HSRC together with the IEC developed the voter questionnaire. Questions included the distance travelled to the voting station, means of transport utilised, time spent in the voting queue, perception of IEC officials' competence, and perception of the freeness and fairness of the election.