The telephone can be an important part of an electoral authority's public communication campaign. Teams of people in telephone call centres can be employed to handle large numbers of calls from the public. Database inquiry systems can be used by call centres to enable casual staff to handle relatively complex inquiries and to keep records of the number and type of calls. Special national 'free call' or low cost inquiry telephone numbers can be used and advertised widely. These generally easy to remember numbers enable the public to telephone a call centre from anywhere in the country for no or minimal cost, the cost of the calls being met by the electoral authority.
Mobile phones allow individuals to move from location to location while remaining contactable.
For electoral administration this is particularly useful for mobile polling teams or roving supervisors. Mobile phones can also be supplied to polling stations where fixed telephones may not be available. Mobile phones can also be used to connect computers to dial-up network connections, email and the internet. Mobile phones do have limitations. Coverage by transmission receivers may not be complete, so that mobile phones may not work in some places, particularly remote areas.