The Quick Count and Election Observation

THE QUICK COUNT AND ELECTION OBSERVATION
Strategies for Managing Information Flows from the Field
Most groups plan to report quick count data to data collection centers by telephone,
if at all possible. The sample size determines the total number of calls
that will flow through the data reporting system on election day. The configuration
and capacity of the telephone system has to be designed to manage the
volume of information that is likely to come via telephone lines. More importantly,
the telephone system has to be able to manage the peak volume of data
flows. The following example illustrates how the volume of data is calculated.
A quick count observation in one country uses a sample of 600 polling
stations, and each telephone call takes, on average, about four minutes
to transmit the observer information. This means that the volume
of information to be transmitted is 600 x 4, or 2400, telephone lineminutes.
In an ideal world, it might be possible to design a
communications system so that each data point in the sample would
have its own dedicated telephone number (in this example, 600 telephone
lines). This is not necessary; it is not very efficient, and it is very
expensive. An alternative strategy is to (1) estimate what the peak volume
of calls will be and then (2) design a communications system that
has the capacity to manage the volume of information at that estimated
peak load, in countries where this is possible.
The telephone system
has to be able to manage
the peak volume
of data flows.
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Generally, the most efficient telephone system to use is what is called a “cascading”
telephone number system. Here, observers are provided with one
phone number to call, but that phone number will automatically transfer and
re-route observer calls to the next available free line. Cascading telephone
number systems may have as many as twenty lines dedicated to a single number.
This system is most efficient because it decreases the likelihood that callers
will get a “busy” signal when they call the number.
“One-number/one-line” systems are more common but far less efficient. First,
they require more available numbers. Second, observers need to be provided
with a list of alternative numbers to call in case the first telephone number
they are assigned turns out to be “busy.” The onus is upon the observer to
find an open line from the list of numbers. Unless the data center telephone
numbers are carefully assigned to each observer, observers may face the problem
of having to repeatedly call the same number until that particular line is
open. This wastes valuable time. In “single-number/single-line” telephone systems,
the more efficient practice is to have no more than fifteen observers
assigned to the same data center telephone line and to provide each observer
with a list of up to five alternative telephone numbers to call. If this strategy
is followed, then it is important to rotate the order of the alternative numbers
provided to each of the fifteen observers. Observers tend to use the first number
at the top of the list of telephone numbers they are given, so rotating the
numbers on these lists decreases the likelihood that each observer will be call-
Generally, the most efficient
telephone system
to use is what is called
a “cascading” telephone
number system.