The 11 best election apps to keep you in the know

6. Obama mobile app

Platforms: Android and iOS

While the official Obama mobile app for iOS and Android isn’t new, it’s at least got a crisp design and serves its purpose well. It features quite a bit of negative material on Romney and Paul Ryan, while also outlining Obama’s stances on education, energy, equal rights, health care, and the economy. It additionally features a “Donate” button and listings for Obama events if you feel so inclined.

7. PollTracker

Platform: iOS

Political watchers love polls, even if polls this far out from November don’t mean much. (The tides can change quickly in election years.) But if you absolutely can’t help yourself, PollTracker from Talking Points Memo is for you. The data it displays averages polls from many sources including Gallup and Rasmussen. The app not only gives insight into the Obama/Romney race state-by-state, but it also gives available polling on some Congressional and local contests too.

8. Tampa 2012

Platforms: Android and iOS

Tampa 2012 is the official app of the Republican National Convention. It doesn’t offer as many features as the DNC app, but it’s still extremely handy if you’re attending the convention or want a detailed schedule of events. The app features an event listing, an interactive map of Tampa, Shuttle service info, a GOP Store for buying gear, and My Experience button for sharing your time in Tampa on social networks.

9. U.S. Politics on Facebook

Platform: Facebook

As you saw from the CNN app, Facebook can provide a fascinating look into the voting electorate. The U.S. Politics page, which is curated by Facebook itself, is also quite interesting. The page highlights how politicians and campaigns are using Facebook to communicate with the community. It also shares best practices for using Facebook for campaigns. With 191,000 “likes,” folks on Facebook seem to appreciate what the page is doing.

10. YouTube Elections Hub

Platform: YouTube

While Google already offers the aforementioned Google + Hangouts for the two conventions, it also has a handy election hub on YouTube for timely political videos. The hub shows the most pressing news clips concerning the election in one place. On top of campaign videos, the hub features content featuring reporting and analysis from news outlets like ABC News, Al Jazeera English, BuzzFeed, The New York Times, and the Wall Street Journal.

11. Vote!!!

Platform: iOS

Okay, so we included one completely non-serious app just for fun. In Vote!!!, from the makers of popular action RPG Infinity Blade, you get to play as Obama or Romney in this over-the-top brawler for iOS. The game includes many different costumes and melee weapons so you can bash your opponent and “win” the election however you see fit. Check out the trailer here.

Democratic National Convention 2008 photo via Kelly DeLay/Flickr