MyZimVote Helps Zimbabwe Voters Verify Registration

(TODAY) For the first time ever Zimbabwean's can now check their voter registration status online at www.myzimvote.com. Access to a copy of the voters' roll containing those registered prior to 27 May 2013 is available via both an online and mobile platform.

The voters' roll database consists of more than 5.8 million registered voters. Anyone can search this database by entering his or her Zimbabwean national ID number.

Your information will NOT be used for any reason other than to check your voter registration. Each search is managed by the person entering the ID number: whether that is you or a friend you have asked to check the database.

If registered, individuals can view their Full Name, Date of Birth, ID Number, Ward, Constituency and Constituency Number (Physical addresses have been withheld for privacy purposes).

For those whose registration is accurate, the next step is to encourage others to check their status.

For those who find inaccuracies in their registration, please report these inconsistencies via the online reporting map also hosted on www.myzimvote.com as outlined below.

The site is also used to inform people on where and how to register and the documentation required to register to vote.

Since the launch of the online voters' roll on 28 June 2012 MyZimVote has received nearly 100,000 unique visitors.

As citizens of the 21st Century, MyZimVote saw an opportunity to use simple technology to help Zimbabwe voters accomplish one task: checking the status of their voter registration. We are providing public information, legally accessed, via a user-friendly interface; saving voters time and helping determine inaccuracies and instances of potential fraud.

MyZimVote is an independent organization and is not affiliated with the government of Zimbabwe and that is why it is efficient and easy to use. We support free and fair elections and are sharing this information in a secure manner online, because the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission has not.

Instructions for Checking the Voters' Roll on MyZimVote

From a computer visit: www.myzimvote.com

From a mobile phone (or device) visit: www.myzimvote.com/mob

One must enter his or her ID number EXACTLY as show in the example [01-1234567-A-01] using dashes where required without spaces.

Once an ID number is entered in the search field, the system will scan the database for an exact match. You will then revive a positive or negative search result.

If your information is incorrect or your search result was negative, you are then encouraged to report this by using the online reporting mechanism, known as a crowdmap. The crowdmap will pool all reports into an easy to monitor map. This service can also be used to report violence, fraud and intimation leading up to and after the harmonized elections set to take place later this year.

Things to look out for:

Your information must be accurate on the voters' roll in order to vote in the upcoming elections.

You must cast your vote in the constituency you are registered in (as shown on the online voters' roll) or you must change your address at the Registrar General's Office or at a Mobile Registration Unit.

Remember the registration period for the upcoming harmonized elections ends on 9 July 2013.

Be sure to check the following:

– Correct spelling of your name

– Date of Birth

– Ward Number

– Constituency

– Constituency number

Please note: ID numbers are not used for any purpose other than to search the existing database. It is important to note, if someone's national ID number is incorrect in the database, their information will not appear, as this is currently the only search field to check ones voter registration status.

Citizens and members of the Diaspora are encouraged to use the online reporting system to report voters' roll inaccuracies, voter fraud, intimidation and acts of violence leading up to and after the harmonized elections set to take place later this year.

Since launched, we have received hundreds of reports from concerned citizens ranging from the incorrect spelling of names to being registered in the wrong constituency, to not appearing on the voters' roll. In order to vote in the harmonized elections one must vote in the consistency listed on the online database or change their constituency.

MyZimVote cannot make any changes or updates nor can we add or delete anyone to the voters' roll. Should someone need to change, add or update his or her information they must do so in Zimbabwe by visiting Registrar General's Office or a Mobile Registration Center. This must be done before 9 July 2013, when the registration period ends.