With the presidential race intensifying, some candidates have made an attempt to appeal to the technological side of voters in hopes of swaying votes through the use of mobile applications.
Most of the election apps, including both free and subscription-based options, are meant to give the public greater access to information regarding the elections as well as serve as a news aggregator.
Running on both the Android and iOS mobile operating systems, President Barack Obama and Republican candidate Mitt Romney have released mobile apps to promote their presidential campaigns.
Obama for America, the app released for Obama’s re-election campaign by the Democratic National Committee, is a free app that allows users to access a variety of tools.
Within the app, an Info tab is available for voters to look up facts regarding the impact that Obama has made. These facts include geographical information, showing facts and information by state, like new voting laws or deadlines.
The Obama for America app also lets users have access to a map of events near a chosen location, making it easier to sign up for volunteer work.
On the other side, voters can also download Romney–Ryan, the mobile application released for the Republican challenger’s campaign by Romney for President, Inc.
Romney–Ryan offers voters a section dedicated to biographies of both Romney and Paul Ryan, R-Wis., GOP vice presidential nominee. The mobile app also features both
candidates’ platforms on specific issues and their plans to address them. For those not looking to download an app for a specific candidate, several mobile apps available for download are not affiliated with anyone in the presidential race.
MSNBC Interactive News released the NBC Politics app in May. The app features interviews and reports, videos from NBC are also available for viewing through the app. In–depth profiles and the latest headlines for each candidate can be seen through the app, with up-to-date facts and statistics as well.
For anyone looking for an application dedicated to real-time poll tracking, TPM Media released PollTracker.
PollTracker boasts in its ability to provide users with real-time data concerning the presidential election. From congressional contest results to charts and averages, PollTracker stays up to date with current data.
The app itself holds a vast amount of information, such as swing state averages, breakdowns of key voting blocs and candidate information on Obama and Romney, along with historical charting of the race.
According to their own description: “No matter what race you’re following, PollTracker provides the polling data you need.”
Even the Washington Post launched its own app for both mobile platforms, with a free and paid version. The free app lets users see a daily political news feed, accompanied by photos, images and graphics.
Free app users also have a fact checker option to “assess the veracity of candidates’ statements and award one to four Pinocchios,” according to The Washington Post Company, the app publisher.
Other free app tools include a “Candidate Tool” that displays the standings of the candidates, an interactive poll map and even access to historical map data.
For those willing to pay the monthly subscription fee of $2.99, the app comes with a few more features left out of the free version.
