The Quick Count and Election Observation

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THE QUICK COUNT AND ELECTION OBSERVATION Information Flows from the Field The experiences of groups that have conducted quick counts provide two very clear lessons about information flows, and each of these has important logistical and analytic implications that need to be clearly understood. First, on election day, there are very substantial fluctuations in the volume of information flows from observers in the field to the data collection center. The typical pattern, summarized in Figure 7-1, is based on real data gathered from a recent Latin American election. In that particular case, the election law required that polling station officials open the polling stations by 7:00 a.m. Observers were asked to be present at the polling station by 6:15, some 45 minutes before polling stations were due to open. They were asked to report their Form 1 data, the qualitative data, immediately after the first voter had voted at their polling station. There are very substantial fluctuations in the volume of information flows from observers in the field to the data collection center. 103 50 FIGURE 7-1: TYPICAL DISTRIBUTION OF PHONE CALLS Calls / 10 minutes 40 30 20 10 7:00 a.m. 8:00 a.m. 9:00 a.m. 10:00 a.m. 11:00 a.m. This pattern of fluctuations in the volumes of information is essentially the same for both the qualitative and the numeric data. At 7:00, the data collection center receives no information at all. Information begins to trickle in to the data collection center after the first thirty minutes, between 7:30 and 8:00. The earliest data to arrive come from the most efficient polling stations and where observers have easy access to telephones. By 8:30, the number of phone calls into the data collection center has increased dramatically, and by 9:00 that trickle has turned into a deluge. In this particular case, calls were arriving at the data collection center at a rate of some 55 calls per 10 minutes or 5.5 calls a minute. After that peak period, the volume of calls coming into the data collection center starts to fall off, and then it slows down dramatically. These uneven information flows present a logistical challenge. The task is to develop a strategy that anticipates—and then effectively manages—the peak volume of information intake. At issue are two questions. Does the group have the communications capacity to accept all the calls during the peak period? The task is to develop a strategy that effectively manages the peak volume of information intake.
CHAPTER SEVEN: COLLECTING AND ANALYZING QUICK COUNT DATA 104 More critically, are there information bottlenecks or breakdowns that could lead to information losses? Information losses are extremely serious for two reasons. Information bottlenecks or breakdowns could lead to information losses. First, they amount to an unnecessary waste of organizational time and effort. The practical issue is clear; there is no point in recruiting and training observers and asking them to report data if the communications system does not have the capacity to receive the data. Second, information losses mean that the effective size of the sample is reduced, and for reasons outlined in Chapter Five, it is clear that reducing effective sample size means increasing the margins of error of the quick count results. More technically, it means that the usable sample becomes a less reliable basis for estimating unknown population characteristics. The second lesson learned is that, on election day, information flows into the data center at uneven rates from different regions of most countries. (See Figure 7-2.) There is no mystery about why there are dramatic regional variations in information flows. Information from the capital cities nearly always arrives first, mostly because the communications infrastructure in capital cities is nearly always far better than in rural areas, and observer access to telephones is nearly always easier in capital cities than elsewhere. Information from rural and remote areas, by contrast, are usually the last data to arrive because communications infrastructure is typically poor, and observers often have to travel great distances to reach telephones or radios. These uneven regional distributions of information flows have both organizational and analytic implications. Because we know ahead of time that information flows are likely to be uneven in these two respects, it is important to take steps that will both maximize and protect our effective sample by managing the information flows more efficiently. FIGURE 7-2: REGIONAL DISTRIBUTION OF INFORMATION FLOWS 80% 70% 60% Incoming Information 50% 40% 30% 20% 10% 7 a.m. - 8:30 a.m. 8:30 a.m. - 10 a.m. After 10 a.m. Capital City Urban Centers (outside capital) Rural Area
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A P P E N D I C E S 162 DIAGRAM OF
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A P P E N D I C E S 168 the polling
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A P P E N D I C E S 174 APPENDIX 9B
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A P P E N D I C E S 176 MALAWI DATA
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A P P E N D I C E S 178 PROMOTIONAL
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