A person who takes a headcount; specifically (a) a census taker; (b) US Politics a person who assesses the number of politicians likely to vote a certain way on a particular issue.
Origin
1930s; earliest use found in Science News. From head + counter, after headcount.
Definition of head-counter in US English:
head-counter
nounˈhɛdkaʊntə
US
A person who takes a headcount; specifically (a) a census taker; (b) US Politics a person who assesses the number of politicians likely to vote a certain way on a particular issue.
Origin
1930s; earliest use found in Science News. From head + counter, after headcount.