Unofficial quick counts are a parallel counting mechanism that is important to distinguish from exit polls. A quick count is a partial count of actual results (whereas exit polls are simply a variation of an opinion poll), used to predict the actual full result. A quick count may often be used as a means of forestalling any manipulation of the results. For the media, of course, the interest is similar to that of an exit poll in that a quick count enables them to run an early results story.

Much the same as with exit polls, it is crucial that media report quick counts with precision and contextual information (what count actually measures, where, and how the information was gathered).