On Tuesday, if someone asks you where they’re supposed to vote, you can now say “Let Me Google That For You.”
As part of the Voting Information Project, Google has released its Voter Information Tool, which allows a user to enter his or her address and find the official polling place and the hours it will be open on Election Day. If early voting options are available, those are displayed as well.
In addition to voting locations and times, the VIT provides links to each candidate’s website and social networks as well as any statewide ballot questions. The tool is designed to equip voters with the information they need about their candidates, all the way from the president and vice president to local officials.
The simplicity, quick response, and ease-of-use of the VIT belies its complexity. Google faced the challenge of geo-coding polling tens of thousands of polling locations across the country and coordinating with 50 state governments to get the most accurate information possible.
State governments, candidates, political parties, and anyone else with an interest in Tuesday’s election are able to embed the tool on their website. Additionally, the tool is completely open source which means other apps can be built off of Google’s data.
Foursquare is using Google’s voting location API (application programming interface) to power its “I Voted” badge and to help its users find their polling place on Tuesday.
With Google’s Civic Information API and the Voting Information Tool, finding your polling place, studying your ballot, and casting your vote has never been easier. The only thing it can’t do is vote for you — you still have to get to the polls for that.
