Election ‘08 for iPhone Offers Up-to-the-minute Political Info

41 Comments

by John Biggs on September 4, 2008

After so long in gestation, the 2008 election season has actually kind of snuck up on me. And what with the App store being released, I thought there would be a ton of politically-orientated apps out there. Incredibly, there are virtually none, and certainly none this cool. You can track polls, electoral vote estimates and so on based on live data, and organize it by state, candidate, percentage and all that. It even has historical data built-in so you can look at trends. Best of all, it’s nonpartisan. Whether you’re an Obamanaut or McCainicon, the data is presented to your liking and without comment (Independents are out of luck, as usual). The link is here and unfortunately it does cost money: you’ll soon be 99 cents closer to the poorhouse.

Comments

Ron Diggity - September 4th, 2008 at 12:43 pm PDT

I just want to be the first to comment…yeah!

Kevin Kris - September 4th, 2008 at 2:32 pm PDT

First to reply the first comment.. blah blah..

Anyways, i like the app. Great!

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han - November 4th, 2008 at 6:51 am PST

In the race to the moment of truth people are still deciding who to
vote for as the next most influential person in the world.
In order to make the decision easier, a dutch company called
Kieskompas has developed the Electoral Compass. This voting advice
application is one of a kind. All the important issues are embedded in
the application that makes it easy to see where you fit in the
political compass. To what extent are you progressive (social liberal)
or traditional (social conservative) or left or right in economical
terms. And which candidate do you relate to the most.

If you haven’t decided who to vote for than take the test.
http://www.elec...oralcompass.com

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silicon valley dropout - September 4th, 2008 at 12:51 pm PDT

second

Jonathon NIerengarten - September 4th, 2008 at 1:01 pm PDT

That’s a slick app.. too bad these margins are so tight that everything falls in the Error category, and are completely meaningless. A fun toy, nonetheless.

James from Babyspot.com - September 4th, 2008 at 1:01 pm PDT

Very nice!

Gary - September 4th, 2008 at 1:05 pm PDT

May have bought it; but the developer put Obama ahead. Would have been better marketing if it was a dead-heat or if McCain ahead.

Ryan Waggoner - September 4th, 2008 at 1:28 pm PDT

What? Those are actual stats. Obama IS ahead. I assume you’re a frequent Fox News watcher…

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- Erick - September 4th, 2008 at 1:43 pm PDT
  
  Oh here we go…. *rolling eyes*
  
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Kevin Lim - September 4th, 2008 at 1:07 pm PDT

That’s something for the iPhone I might actually purchase. Prediction news site, Hubdub, should make an app similar to this.

Chris D. - September 4th, 2008 at 1:09 pm PDT

@Gary: Those were the actual stats on July 24, 2008. The developer didn’t do anything to make anyone appear ahead or behind.

Aaron Brethorst - September 4th, 2008 at 1:15 pm PDT

@Gary – Like Chris D. said, those were the reported stats when I snapped the screenshots.

dan - September 4th, 2008 at 2:27 pm PDT

if you don’t have an iphone and want to follow election ‘08 on the go see http://www.moblogga.mobi on your mobile device…nice assortment of both political and technical blogs and the ability to follow any blog you want via real simple interface

luke - September 4th, 2008 at 2:40 pm PDT

hey guys,

we are about to launch a new venture http://www.emailcharity.com. We think it’s the first acutal app combining web 2.0 and politics – show watch out

bye
lukas

Loudacris - September 5th, 2008 at 6:51 am PDT

Check out http://www.createdebate.com and enter your ZIP: Bam, see exactly who you can vote for on November 4th. Get involved by drilling down into the thousands of politics debates already underway.

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Jason - September 4th, 2008 at 2:57 pm PDT

Sorry Lukas, but you’re site will definitely NOT be the first political web 2.0 site. FREEDOMSPEAKS.COM launched back in March and we’re quickly building up a user base. Speak out. Be heard.

Glenn - September 4th, 2008 at 3:26 pm PDT

So after the election is over, can I have my money back?

Alex Wilhelm - September 4th, 2008 at 4:50 pm PDT

Its 99 cents. Tell you what, next time you are in Portland or Chicago look me up, I’ll buy you lunch.

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Andrew - September 4th, 2008 at 5:04 pm PDT

So where are they getting their polling data?

syed - September 4th, 2008 at 5:20 pm PDT

Awesome! But I don’t have an iPhone…is there a version planned for the BlackBerry????

Kevin Milden - September 4th, 2008 at 6:08 pm PDT

I just downloaded this app after I read TechCrunch’s recommendation. I like having this information on hand. I wish it did a little more than it does but it is helpful. As long at it continues to report that Obama is winning I will enjoy using it.

ZingerSteve - September 4th, 2008 at 6:21 pm PDT

They should have two versions, one leaning Democratic and one leaning Republican. They could really open up their market if they offer opposing poll data that shows each side winning.

Marco - September 5th, 2008 at 12:47 am PDT

Where’s the version that lets you control hacked electronic voting machines from your iPhone? Dial in the ratings you want and hit go.

Loren's Mom - September 5th, 2008 at 9:13 am PDT

Can’t play on the iphone but the flash game http://whackthevote.com/ is pretty cool. Steve needs to bring flash to the iphone! I’m tired of half the web being closed off from me.

sabrina - September 5th, 2008 at 10:41 am PDT

i’m really excited about this election so was pretty excited about this app

but there’s nothing but poll numbers grabbed from one site….

i was hoping for a little bit more content, or at least poll numbers across multiple reliable sources

Ben Strackany - September 7th, 2008 at 8:18 pm PDT

@sabrina – I’m not surprised. There are a lot of apps that are simple mashups. That’s fine if that’s all you need, but I think if you put the same functionality on a web site it wouldn’t get nearly the attention. Not to mention the $0.99.