DailyTech - Quick Note: Google Voter Tool Helps You Find Where to Cast Your Ballot

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Internet Quick Note: Google Voter Tool Helps You Find Where to Cast Your Ballot
Shane McGlaun (Blog) - October 30, 2012 10:50 AM

5 comment(s) - last by SlyNine.. on Nov 7 at 1:58 PM

Google tool shows candidates and voting locations

Google is really beefing up its efforts to help people get the information they need for current events of late. Yesterday we talked a bit about a Google tool that Google released to help those affected by Hurricane Sandy. Today we're talking a bit about the new Google Voter Information Tool.

This tool is designed specifically to tell you where in your local area you can go to vote. The tool also runs down major candidates for all the elections in your state and for the nation. The voter information tool allows users to enter their address to find information on their specific polling place, early voting locations, ballot information, and more.

The ballot information even offers links to the candidate's social media sites along with voting rules and requirements. The tool is designed to be embedded on any website and uses open source coding allowing developers to modify it to their needs.

Google is also working with media partners to ensure that the tool is accessible across the web, and Google specifically calls out Foursquare and AT&T for doing "great work" building apps on its Civic Information API.

Source: Google

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Do we still need voting locations?

By retrospooty on 10/30/2012 1:01:50 PM , Rating: 2

I thought the mail in ballot would be more prevalent by now. I mailed mine in last week, no fuss no muss.

Is it not available in most places or do people just like wasting their time standing in line? Maybe, the post office still has lines LOL.

RE: Do we still need voting locations?

By arthur449 on 10/31/2012 8:51:55 AM , Rating: 2

I lived in Texas growing up and had to go out and visit polling location to vote all my life. I even worked several polling places and attended the hilarious training courses you're required to attend.

Then I moved to Oregon where they do vote-by-mail and... amazing. You mean they don't have to spend millions renting buildings from fire departments/schools/churches and paying the poll workers? Or deal with the cleanup of the political signage at the polling locations? Or purchase and distribute hundreds of thousands of LCD voting machines?

In a time when states are having budget problems, why don't more of them adopt a similar vote-by-mail system?

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