A different method, get_user_count(), is used for counting the items a user has flagged. This method is less efficient than get_count() because an SQL COUNT query is issued.

Drupal : Getting flag counts (3)

$flag = flag_get_flag('votes') or die('no "votes" flag');

// We assume an $account variable exists in this template.

print format_plural($flag->get_user_count($account->uid),
    'This user has participated in 1 voting.',
    'This user has participated in @count votings.');