The Quick Count and Election Observation

C H A P T E R O N E : B A C K G R O U N D O N Q U I C K C O U N T S
6 Reporting on the Quality of the Process
Most challenges to electoral processes are based on anecdotes. For example,
one party may allege that its supporters were prevented from voting; in another
instance a party may present witnesses who claim that they were paid to
vote for a certain candidate. Without documentation and analysis of the impact
of such problems it is very difficult to obtain redress.
A quick count is designed to collect systematic and reliable information about
qualitative aspects of the process. Opposition political parties and independent
monitors can rely on statistical methods used by quick counts to supply
reliable and valid evidence about the voting and counting processes. 5 A quick
count goes beyond anecdotes to characterize the magnitude and severity of
problems in the electoral process. Information on the quality of the process
can determine whether a quantitative assessment of the vote tabulation process
is relevant.
CITIZEN PARTICIPATION (PC)
Example: Dominican Republic, 1996
The deliberate disenfranchisement of tens-of-thousands of opposition political
party supporters in the Dominican Republic's 1994 elections allowed Joaquin
Balaguer to fraudulently claim the presidency. A political crisis was triggered;
Balaguer’s term was halved as a consequence, and a new election was scheduled
in 1996. A Dominican nonpartisan civic organization, Citizen Participation
(PC), formed to monitor the election. During the pre-election period, a political
party raised serious concerns about the potential for illegal voting by
non-citizens. This raised tensions and heightened suspicions that either illegal
voting or disenfranchisement from over zealous application of procedures
could mar the election. However, PC election-day reports about the relatively
trouble-free voting process helped to allay concerns in both rounds of the
election. Similar reports by the domestic observer group during the 2000 presidential
election also helped to calm skeptics and clarify the situation for that
country.
Encouraging Citizen Participation
Quick count organizers mobilize hundreds, thousands, sometimes tens of thousands
of citizens. These are often individuals who are not interested in
participating in partisan politics but still want to actively support the development
of a democratic political system. They serve as quick count trainers,
observers, data processors and in other supporting roles. They become well
versed in the country’s electoral process and often stay involved in similar projects
following elections.
Example: Ukraine, 1999
The Committee of Voters of Ukraine (CVU) was founded jointly by a student
organization, a human rights group and a trade union in 1994. CVU was interested
in monitoring the country’s first parliamentary elections organized after
5
See also Chapter Six, The Qualitative Component of the Quick Count, for further discussion of qualitative
analysis.