This served to effectively dismantle the traditional multi-racial "Cape Qualified Franchise" system.

Black voters had never been entitled to vote in Transvaal and the Orange Free State.

The voters' rolls, for 1935, were broken down by race in each province (using the racial classifications in use in South Africa at the time).

The three (white) Native Representative Members from Cape Province were elected on a different date, for a term (expiring on 30 June immediately following a period of five years after the previous election) unaffected by dissolutions of Parliament.

[5][6] The South Africa Act 1909 had provided for a delimitation commission to define the boundaries for each electoral division.

Candidates nominated for the election, by party, were United 150, Purified National 103, Labour 37, Dominion 33, Independent 31, Greyshirts 3 and Socialists 3.