The Quick Count and Election Observation

CHAPTER SEVEN: COLLECTING AND ANALYZING QUICK COUNT DATA
The database should
be developed from
the moment when
observers are first
recruited.
110 fact, the database should be developed from the moment when observers are
first recruited. This database is an important basic resource that can be used
for tracking recruiting and training, as well as for monitoring election day information
flows. The database contains information, stored as records, for each
and every volunteer observer. It usually includes: each observer’s name, address
and contact telephone numbers; whether and when the observer has been
trained; when the observer was sent election day observer materials; and when
they received those materials. 4 The database also contains the name, location,
address and contact telephone numbers of the regional coordinators to whom
the observer reports (Call #2), and it contains the same information for the
backup private telephones to whom the observer will make Call #3. Most crucially,
the database also contains the number and location of the polling station
to which the observer is assigned.
With these pieces of information in a single computer record, the database
becomes an extremely efficient tool for retrieving and linking key pieces of
information. For example, recruiters can consult the database to track how
well recruiting is proceeding. Trainers can refer to the database to find out
who has been trained and how to contact people who need to be trained. The
organization can use the database as a source of addresses for mailings to volunteers.
Regional coordinators can use the database to keep in touch with
observers who report to them and to identify those observers who are collecting
data from the sample points in the quick count.
The database is an
extremely valuable
tool for guiding information
flows within
the data collection
center on election day.
In addition to these general day-to-day operational uses, the database is an
extremely valuable tool for guiding information flows within the data collection
center on election day. Refer again to Figure 7-3. Notice that immediately
after data from observers are entered by the data entry operators, the information
is directly entered into the database. A computer program then
re-directs the quick count observation data simultaneously to three locations:
to the statistical analysis unit, the wall chart and the data recovery unit. In the
statistical analysis unit, data become available for analysis. Volunteers working
on the wall chart record which polling stations in the sample have reported
in their data, and keep a running tally of the arrival of reports from the polling
stations in the sample. Volunteers in the data recovery unit track each sample
point that has NOT reported.
Sample Clearing and Data Recovery
Suppose that, after the first two hours, 20 percent of the sample points from
the capital city have not reported. The vital question becomes: How to retrieve
these data? The data recovery unit will take computer generated reports from
the database and start the process of data recovery. Each computer generated
report received by the data recovery unit will contain the following
4
The database may track additional information concerning the organization’s staff and volunteers of
various types, such as skills or types of tasks performed during the course of the election observation
(e.g., types of pre-election monitoring undertaken) and interests/activities beyond election monitoring
(e.g., voter education, “congress watch,” etc.).