PRINTDownload This: The Washington Post Politics App
A new political app puts elections at iPad users' fingertips
March 29, 2012 | 12:00 a.m. CST
The Washington Post’s new political app for the iPad provides full coverage of all aspects of the election, from candidates’ platforms to breaking news throughout the campaign.
Users of the free app can scroll through the news & analysis tab to keep up with the latest developments concerning the elections with links to articles from The Washington Post. They can also share articles with other political-minded friends — the ones who play drinking games while watching senatorial debates on C-SPAN — through email, Facebook and Twitter right from the app.
Check where candidates stand on 15 major campaign issues with the interactive graph; circles with each candidate’s smiling face fall on an ideology spectrum to represent their politics. For the issue of same-sex marriage, the graph stacks Newt Gingrich, Rick Santorum and Mitt Romney on the right of the graph while Ron Paul stands alone in the middle of the graph to show his libertarian stance on the issue. Tapping on the circles pulls up more details on the candidate’s political platforms.
To know what’s going on in good ol’ Missouri, use the maps tab. Tap a state, and all the data will pop up including each state’s leaders, which states are polling and more. The historical data section has details about every presidential election in history, perfect for the history buffs out there. Who won the presidential election in 1908? Just check the historical data section to see that William Taft won with 321 electoral votes and 51.57 percent of the popular vote.
Two sections of the app are only available with the upgraded version of the app, which costs $2.99 a month. Premium members will find new insight into the election in the insider’s corner tab, which links directly to blogs and opinion pieces by The Washington Post staff. The campaign files tab allows users to sort through any of the information by issue or by candidate through a more specific search.
