Corvus Consulting

One more for the election. A few weeks ago I wrote about the nifty iPhone app from the Obama campaign, which I still think is a beautiful piece of work and the start of a new era in campaign organization.

At the time I thought that for certain the app would make a big deal about getting out to vote on election day. But when I fired it up to check this morning, I was let down.

What kinds of features should an election day mode take on? Time left before polling stations close, a map to your registered polling station, where to call and what to do if you’re turned away or witness irregularities, and of course, a way to document your voting experience and share it online. That’s all for version 2, I guess, but smart money is working on a white-label approach to this kind of application for the next elections, that’s for sure.

Another app that I’d been loving but didn’t come through today was the Slate poll tracker.

The Slate app is a small masterpiece in poll tracking, offering both just enough info for a quick stop, or in depth as far as you want to go within the window of recently relevant results. This app kept me entertained through more than one lunch, I’m embarrassed to say. If I could have wished for one thing it would have been results tracking mode. Again, the ball is dropped on designing for the big day.

The really big winner for today’s election in the United States? Well, that one is obvious, and it’s welcome news indeed.