Tech giants offer up last-minute Election Day help
You likely know who you’re voting for in the presidential race, but do you know where your Election Day polling place is?
Google, Twitter and Facebook have all rolled out services designed to help voters with everything from finding their polling station to following election results as they start rolling in on Tuesday. Uber, meanwhile, is prompting riders to get to the polls. Zipcar is offering free rentals in some places.
Even President Barack Obama has been involved, reminding people to vote in an in-app Spotify message.
“Millions of Americans are voting,” the president intones in a short clip that directs listeners to Headcount.org for voter information. “You should be one of them.”
It’s all part of a push to get Americans out to vote in what has been one of the ugliest and most bitterly fought campaigns in recent memory. The tension has been so fierce, Democrat Hillary Clinton and Republican Donald Trump didn’t even shake hands before two of their three presidential debates.
The tech efforts come as some polls show Clinton with a slim lead over Trump. So every vote, including yours, counts.
Google on Monday said it would deliver election results in more than 30 languages. The search giant said that in addition to the marquee presidential race, the results will include state-level referendums and ballot propositions, as well as congressional and gubernatorial races.
Google is also prompting constituents who use its popular Gmail email service to find out where they can vote via a link atop the inbox. And it’s using its famous Doodle to direct people to voter information.
YouTube, which is owned by Google parent Alphabet, will live-stream election results from NBC, MTV and Telemundo, among others, as part of its Election Day coverage. Live streaming coverage will be available throughout the day on CBSN and CBSNews.com.
Since late October, Facebook has been offering a feature to help members develop voting plans tailored to their states. The social network is using data gathered by the nonpartisan Center for Technology and Civic Life to compile how the candidates stand on the issues and who’s endorsed them. It also offers recent social media posts and campaign websites for review.
Facebook also lets you email copies of your voting plan to yourself to print and take with you to the voting booth. (Some states won’t allow using your smartphone while voting.)
On Sunday, Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg said the social network had helped more than 2 million people register to vote.
“Voting is one of our great responsibilities as citizens in a democracy,” Zuckerberg wrote. “That’s why you’ve probably seen us actively encouraging everyone who can vote, to go vote.”
Likewise, Twitter is reminding voters to participate in the process. Voters can direct-message @Gov to find their closest polling place and ballot information. On Monday, the social media platform said some one billion tweets about the election had been sent to this handle in the U.S. since the primary debates began in August 2015.
Uber, the popular ride-hailing service, has been helping both its passengers and drivers register to vote since September. And on Tuesday, Uber will launch an in-app feature reminding passengers it’s Election Day and locating his or her voting station.
In some states, Zipcar, an hourly car-rental service, is letting members use cars for free in order to get to the polls. Members will still have to pay taxes.
