Questions voters ask

Every signed-in voter gets a free vote each day in each pageant, usually one a day; the pageant page says how many. It counts straight away. Your free vote comes back the next day.

Your paid votes count as soon as your mobile money payment is confirmed, usually within seconds of entering your PIN. While the page says "processing", your network is still confirming: wait, and do not pay again.

Now and then a paid vote is held for a quick check before it counts. Held votes do not show on the leaderboard yet. After the check they either count as normal, or the payment is refunded to the number that paid. A vote is never both counted and refunded.

Votes that have counted are final, even if your contestant does not win. You get a refund if you were charged twice, charged but your votes never counted, a held vote is refunded after review, or the pageant is cancelled. Read the refund policy, or write to support@crownvotes.com with the number you paid from.

Usually not. Check your mobile money messages before you try again. If money left your account and no vote number came, write to support@crownvotes.com with the transaction reference and the number you paid from.

Tap Vote on any contestant and sign in with Google, Apple or your email address. With email we send a 6-digit code to type in; there is no password to remember. Once you are signed in, the vote you tapped carries on.

An account is how we keep the free vote to one per person each day, so no one can vote free a hundred times. It is also where we send your vote number and your receipts. We never show your name or email on the leaderboard.

Every vote that counts gets a number, like #1,204: it means yours was the 1,204th vote counted for that contestant. Buy 50 votes and you get a range, like #1,201 to #1,250. It shows on screen and arrives by email.

MTN MoMo and Airtel Money. A prompt appears on the phone you are paying from; enter your mobile money PIN to approve it. New to voting? Read how to vote, step by step.