Apps We Love: Election and Politics

Choose your side and then choose your app. Here is a grab bag of partisan apps (please don’t read anything into the order in which they are presented – something has to be first and last!) to help you keep up with the candidates you support. Democratic Daily News & Podcasts ($2.99), CNR Conservative News Reader, All Voices: Progressive News, Conservative Talk Radio, Drudge Report, NPR.

Hoping to have your voice heard? Countable is the app that Wired magazine says “gives you a simple and concise overview of the bills your national representatives are debating, and it lets you instantly send emails to these representatives, telling them how you would like them to vote.”

If you don’t mind forking over a bit of pocket change, Congress+ from Cohen Research Group is probably the most in-depth app you’ll find providing biographical information on each member of the U.S. House and Senate as well as updates on bills each legislator is sponsoring. In related apps, you can read the daily Congressional Record with the app of the same name. Presented by the Library of Congress, the Congressional Record app also provides the daily schedules for the House and Senate and provides search functionality.

Original article: September 2016:

Everyone is talking about the election this year, and not always in very glowing terms. If you want to have the latest news and information at your fingertips, not just about the presidential election but about political issues in general, these apps should arm you with talking points for any conversation in which you land.

Where does your favorite politician stand in the polls? Check out PollTracker created by digital political news organization Talking Points Memo, the app that displays the latest polls for both national and state elections.

If you’re trying to keep up with the latest political headlines, there are a number of apps that can help you out. US Elections 2016 from New Fusion is covering the presidential race. Politomix from Mobile Info Center is a news aggregator that pulls political stories from at least 40 news sources. It includes a search feature so you can sort through the articles for the topics that interest you. All Politics from Universal goes beyond the presidential election to cover political issues across a national and international spectrum. C-Span podcasts are included so you can hear the news too. AppAdvice.com calls Real Clear Politics “the best political site on the Web.” The independent site/app publishes commentary, polling data, news, and videos to keep you up-to-date on political information.

How honest are the politicians? Fact checking app Politifact provides a truth index and monitors flip-flops. Operated by the Tampa Bay Times, the app helps you “find out who’s telling the truth and who’s stretching it,” and can be the clincher in political arguments. With ratings from “True” all the way down to “Pants on Fire,” the app provides the background information supporting or defeating statements made by our politicians.

If you’re a true political junkie, you know it’s all about the Electoral College. The 270toWin iPad app costs $.99 and contains voting history of each state from the date of admission to the present. You can create your own maps populated with your predictions and share them on social media.

Choose your side and then choose your app. Here is a grab bag of partisan apps (please don’t read anything into the order in which they are presented – something has to be first and last!) to help you keep up with the candidates you support. Democratic Daily News & Podcasts, CNR Conservative News Reader & Talk Radio, Republican News Radio FM – News from the Right, Conservative Talk Radio, Democrat Talk Radio FM – News from the Left, Libertarian News – Radio, Maps & Friends.

Countable is the app that Wired magazine says “gives you a simple and concise overview of the bills your national representatives are debating, and it lets you instantly send emails to these representatives, telling them how you would like them to vote.”

Pollenize can keep you up-to-date on the platform of each candidate and promises to update the app every time there is a change. The app is a bit cumbersome but if you’re trying to settle an argument, this might give you the background information that you need.

If you don’t mind forking over a bit of pocket change, Congress+ from Cohen Research Group is probably the most in-depth app you’ll find providing biographical information on each member of the U.S. House and Senate as well as updates on bills each legislator is sponsoring. In related apps, you can read the daily Congressional Record with the app of the same name. Presented by the Library of Congress, the Congressional Record app also provides the daily schedules for the House and Senate and provides search functionality.

If you like to keep your purchases in line with your political leanings, you’ll want to check out BuyPartisan, the app that lets you know the parties and causes to which the leaders of a particular company have donated. Scan by barcode or enter a company name. Reviews are mixed but it’s fun to play with.