Here is another opportunity to do your bit being common man. This article provides you some useful information on how to register your vote using JaagoRe. JaagoRe is one of such rare initiative which enables citizens of India to get their vote registered.

One of the fundamental rights being citizen of a country is to exercise vote and choosing representatives in democratic way. What we choose today will decide what we get in future. Please get your voting rights at the place where you stay or plan to exercise vote.

I am awakened (मैं अब जाग गया हूँ). Are you? If not than get your vote registered in your residing constituency if you do not plan to vote in your native constituency. I have changed states (like, had been to Rajasthan, West Bengal, Bihar, Uttar Pradesh and now in Karnataka) in last 9-10 years and could not vote due to this or that’s the excuse I had to not to vote. I am in Bangalore now for about 5 yrs and wanted to vote here but did not have much information. Whole perspective changed when a Janaagraha (or JaagoRe) volunteer, Mr Vinod contacted us for doing a voter registration campaign in Suncity Apartments which we agreed immediately. We did some publicity, like, communication through yahoogroups, pasting posters in each block, words of mouth etc. We thought that it could be one good service on the occasion of Republic Day.

24-Jan-09 (Saturday) was decided to have this campaign. We had informed everyone to register at jaagore.com more than 1 week before. One needs to follow these simple steps to register with JaagoRe:

1. One need to register their details at the www.jaagore.com website and fill the form
2. Jaagore will send the filled forms back to the residents in PDF format to their email
3. Residents need to take print out (back to back page) and submit the signed form alongwith supporting documents*, like Age proof and address proof etc
4. Jaagore volunteer will collect the forms and submit in bulk to electoral office

*For details on required documents, read at jaagore.com which is quite simple website.

We had good turn-out and about 220 voters from Suncity initiated their voter registration process.

Some points to remember while registering/submitting the forms which I learnt by being with Mr Vinod through out the process:

1. There are various types of forms (6, 7, 8, 8A, 001) that can be submitted by citizens for voter registration, cancellation, change of details etc but If one registers through JaagoRe than website asks some questions and based on answers, one is directed to the type of form one should use/submit.
2. To get voter id card, one need to also fill 001A form and attach a passport size photo but Voter Id card is not necessary for voting but voter’s name must be in the voter list.
3. One can get his/her name registered in the voter list of particular constituency if one has stayed at one address in that constituency for more than six months.
4. Take print-out of the form on both sides of paper (back to back). This was one of the common mistake done by many suncityites and they had to go back to get such print-outs which was not possible in short time. We told them to get facsimile of one page on another to have back to back form.
5. Do not forget to sign on the second page of the form. There were few suncityites who did not know where to sign or forgot to sign?
6. Have address proof, age proof attached with each applicant. Remember that it is not essential for the address proof document to have applicant’s name. It needs to have only the address of the place where one is staying. One can use address proof document on the name of parents, relatives, friends etc. with whom one is staying.
7. If voter’s name is in the voter list than one can visit to Electoral office and get voter id card in 5 minutes by showing some identity proof. Getting voter id card is not tough provided voter’s name is in voter list published by Election Commission.
8. If one has submitted the completed form to JaagoRe volunteer and If one wants JaagoRe website to track status of the form than one must LOGIN to JaagoRe website and click on a link “I have submitted the form” so that one can get reminders on status of your application.

To conclude, I must say that it is very good initiative, I got to learn a lot and wishing to spread this as much as possible.

– Hariprakash