This week marks one of the most monumental moments in my young adult life. Ever since I was young, geeky little me longed for the day I too could partake in one of history’s greatest fought-for privileges. I craved the little “I Voted” sticker. I would watch as my parents shuffled into the voting booths. Waiting to be up next to pull the levers and pick my favorite. Now it’s finally my turn. Election Day has come. Campus is buzzing with excitement, the clashing of opinions, and the quiet anticipation of who’s chosen candidate will rise to the top. Though of course, times have changed. Giant levers have been replaced with technology and old-fashioned booths substituted in my case with a signed, sealed, delivered absentee ballot. And with this 2012 election came a lot of decisions and, admittedly, a pinch of stress for me. Though I love my country, keep in the loop with current events, and value the freedoms that we have, I’ll admit it, up until recently, I’ve been a very checked out American. So when the moment came to make my own mark and vote for the first time, I wanted to be informed enough to make a decision that best reflected my values. The media is cluttered with opinions and it’s often hard to know if what’s being said is true. Luckily living in this technological era, we have the access to tools right at our fingertips. Literally. And this is exactly what helped a relatively lost girl solidify her vote. So let me brag for a minute and show you how I was able to pull it together in time for Election Day. Here are my Top 5 iPhone Apps for the Clueless American.
5. Get Your Facts Right: PolitiFact
As we all know the media is jam-packed with opinions, propaganda, and a mix of lies and truths – leaving us with a confusing cluster of who’s saying what. This app jumps in to clarify the blurred array of press. PolitiFact has a list of statements with illustrated meters ranking how valid they are, a list of promises Obama has made and if he has fulfilled them, a map of the weekly truth index, and a page on top stories. For someone hesitant on what to believe in this race, this app displays all sides to the stories.
PolitiFacts
4. Get on Board with a Candidate: Candidates
Don’t know who to vote for? Through an interactive survey, you’re taken step by step through the policies in question for this election. At the end of the survey it offers the percentage to which you agree with each candidate, ranking your matches to who you agree most with to who you disagree most with. Then you’re free to search around the app to read more on each candidate. Hate to share this embarrassing truth but this little guy helped me on my way to deciding which candidate matched with my ideals best.
Candidates
3. Get Policy Positions Fast: PocketPolls
One of my absolute favorites. This is the ultimate foolproof guide to Obama and Romney’s individual positions. Broken up into sections such as “On the Economy,” “On Iraq,” “Education Policy,” etc. it lays all of the policies on the table with their positions. After the Candidates app ranks all of those running, PocketPolls is here to help you decide which of the top two you agree with most.
PocketPolls
2. Get the Top News Now: Politico
Politico is a great one stop shop for all things politics. Some of my friends recommended this app to me as an easy way to keep up-to-date with articles on the Politico website. Though the app only features coverage from Politico’s site, the easy navigation through the app helps me stay informed and follow the race. Constantly updated with articles, it’s been bringing full coverage of the race.
Politico
1. Get the Full Coverage: NY Times Election 2012
Being a big NY Times lover, their app rose to the top in terms of sorting through the news surrounding this election. Unlike Politico which focuses solely on their own material, the Times app has a list of their own “Top News” articles along with their “Opinion” section and a multimedia array of popular Times slideshows and videos from their online paper. However what makes this app so great is the sources section. This section has links to all major coverage from across the Web – The Wall Street Journal, HuffPost, CNN, and BuzzFeed are just a few of the 14 sources featured on the app. Having a nice mix of writing styles, I can easily navigate to find different views on every single step of this race. On Election Day, the live Election Guide portion of the app has been keeping the race constantly updated while I run to meetings and work in the library. Though other apps could’ve been downloaded to have the same access to the live results, having the journalistic styling of NY Times writing tied with access to major media coverage and a live interactive map with polls gives me everything I need to follow the election effortlessly on my phone from wherever I am. The NY Times Election 2012 app is the ultimate multitasking of the election that I could find. As an admitted clueless American, having all of this right in front of me is helping to keep me in the loop and up-to-date with the streaming of the election without having the TV distraction of broadcast or the refreshing of a webpage.
