Category Archives: Politics & Elections Blog

Trends, tools and news from the Google Politics and Elections team

Google and YouTube can help keep you informed on Election Day

It’s Election Day Eve, the day before before millions of people across the U.S. will head to the polls and cast votes for their elected officials. But before you get to the ballot box -- and head out with that sticker! -- check Google to get the information on where to vote and election results.

elections

Starting when the polls close on Election Day, you will be able to find U.S. election results integrated right into your Google searches in over 30 languages around the world. You’ll also be able to see detailed updates and results of the Presidential, Senatorial, Congressional, Gubernatorial races as well as state-level referenda and ballot propositions.

For the past several months, Google has helped people find information about the democratic process: our search results have helped voters register and explained the voting process with information on how to vote, who’s on their ballot, and how to find their local polling place in both English and Spanish. Since releasing these in-depth search results, we've seen millions of people engage with these tools on Google -- there's even been a startling 233% increase in traffic for "how to vote" compared with 2012. In addition to “how to vote,” Americans are actively searching for “where to vote” -- particularly in battleground states, as depicted in these county-by-county breakdowns:

  • PA
  • OH
  • NC
  • FL

Over the past few weeks viewers spent over 20 million hours watching - and rewatching - the presidential debate live streams on YouTube. Tomorrow, YouTube will be live streaming election results coverage from more news organizations than ever before. Starting at 7 p.m. ET on Tuesday, November 8, tune in to live coverage from NBC, PBS, MTV, Bloomberg, Telemundo and The Young Turks to keep up with all of the action as it happens. Complex News will also be delivering live coverage during a special election event from YouTube Space NY. And to close out YouTube’s #voteIRL campaign, creators and fans have been posting their #voteIRL selfie to mark that they’re going to vote. And tune in to some special voting reminder PSAs starring POTUS and some familiar-looking furry friends.

Screen_Shot_2016-11-04_at_3.56.34_PM.width-1080.png

Whether you voted early, plan to head to the polls tomorrow, host an Election Night watch party, or live stream the victory speech from America’s new President-Elect, we’re here to help. From the ballot box to tomorrow’s late-night returns, we hope Google’s tools help guide you through Election Day in a simple, clear and informative way.

And one last thing: don’t forget to vote. It matters.

Google and YouTube can help keep you informed on Election Day

It’s Election Day Eve, the day before before millions of people across the U.S. will head to the polls and cast votes for their elected officials. But before you get to the ballot box -- and head out with that sticker! -- check Google to get the information on where to vote and election results.

elections

Starting when the polls close on Election Day, you will be able to find U.S. election results integrated right into your Google searches in over 30 languages around the world. You’ll also be able to see detailed updates and results of the Presidential, Senatorial, Congressional, Gubernatorial races as well as state-level referenda and ballot propositions.

For the past several months, Google has helped people find information about the democratic process: our search results have helped voters register and explained the voting process with information on how to vote, who’s on their ballot, and how to find their local polling place in both English and Spanish. Since releasing these in-depth search results, we've seen millions of people engage with these tools on Google -- there's even been a startling 233% increase in traffic for "how to vote" compared with 2012. In addition to “how to vote,” Americans are actively searching for “where to vote” -- particularly in battleground states, as depicted in these county-by-county breakdowns:

PA
OH
NC
FL

Over the past few weeks viewers spent over 20 million hours watching - and rewatching - the presidential debate live streams on YouTube. Tomorrow, YouTube will be live streaming election results coverage from more news organizations than ever before. Starting at 7 p.m. ET on Tuesday, November 8, tune in to live coverage from NBC, PBS, MTV, Bloomberg, Telemundo and The Young Turks to keep up with all of the action as it happens. Complex News will also be delivering live coverage during a special election event from YouTube Space NY. And to close out YouTube’s #voteIRL campaign, creators and fans have been posting their #voteIRL selfie to mark that they’re going to vote. And tune in to some special voting reminder PSAs starring POTUS and some familiar-looking furry friends.

Screen_Shot_2016-11-04_at_3.56.34_PM.width-1080.png

Whether you voted early, plan to head to the polls tomorrow, host an Election Night watch party, or live stream the victory speech from America’s new President-Elect, we’re here to help. From the ballot box to tomorrow’s late-night returns, we hope Google’s tools help guide you through Election Day in a simple, clear and informative way.

And one last thing: don’t forget to vote. It matters.

Google and YouTube can help keep you informed on Election Day

It’s Election Day Eve, the day before before millions of people across the U.S. will head to the polls and cast votes for their elected officials. But before you get to the ballot box -- and head out with that sticker! -- check Google to get the information on where to vote and election results.

Starting when the polls close on Election Day, you will be able to find U.S. election results integrated right into your Google searches in over 30 languages around the world. You’ll also be able to see detailed updates and results of the Presidential, Senatorial, Congressional, Gubernatorial races as well as state-level referenda and ballot propositions.

For the past several months, Google has helped people find information about the democratic process: our search results have helped voters register and explained the voting process with information on how to vote, who’s on their ballot, and how to find their local polling place in both English and Spanish. Since releasing these in-depth search results, we've seen millions of people engage with these tools on Google -- there's even been a startling 233% increase in traffic for "how to vote" compared with 2012. In addition to “how to vote,” Americans are actively searching for “where to vote” -- particularly in battleground states, as depicted in these county-by-county breakdowns:

  • PA
  • OH
  • NC
  • FL

Over the past few weeks viewers spent over 20 million hours watching - and rewatching - the presidential debate live streams on YouTube. Tomorrow, YouTube will be live streaming election results coverage from more news organizations than ever before. Starting at 7 p.m. ET on Tuesday, November 8, tune in to live coverage from NBC, PBS, MTV, Bloomberg, Telemundo and The Young Turks to keep up with all of the action as it happens. Complex News will also be delivering live coverage during a special election event from YouTube Space NY. And to close out YouTube’s #voteIRL campaign, creators and fans have been posting their #voteIRL selfie to mark that they’re going to vote. And tune in to some special voting reminder PSAs starring POTUS and some familiar-looking furry friends.

Whether you voted early, plan to head to the polls tomorrow, host an Election Night watch party, or live stream the victory speech from America’s new President-Elect, we’re here to help. From the ballot box to tomorrow’s late-night returns, we hope Google’s tools help guide you through Election Day in a simple, clear and informative way.

And one last thing: don’t forget to vote. It matters.

Ballot Propositions Matter to Voters

While much of the news is focused on the presidential race, on November 8 there will be165 propositions on the ballot that could impact over 205 million Americans in 35 states.1

When it comes to learning more about their state’s referenda in the final days of the Election, voters are increasingly turning online. That’s why we have launched features in Google Searchto help voters learn who and what propositions are on their ballot. And people are searching.

Seventy-five percent of all searches on ballot propositions happen the month before Election Day.2 One out of five voters continue to research their on their phones as they enter the voting booth.3

Digital tools continue to have an impact on voter awareness around ballot measures and new research confirms it.

New research from comScore, in conjunction with Google and the digital campaigns of statewide ballot initiatives, shows how voters exposed to digital advertising react differently to those who were not shown the same content. For voters who saw the display and video advertising, awareness of the ballot proposition increased by 27 percentage points. Furthermore, intent to vote increase by 14 points.4

For voters who saw the display and video advertising, awareness of the ballot proposition increased by 27 percentage points. ComScore Ad Effectiveness Suite

With just one week to go, reaching voters effectively has never been more important. Digital tools offer campaigns a huge opportunity to educate voters and effectively increase awareness and intent to vote. Learn more about how campaigns are reaching voters online through digital advertising here or see Google’s GOTV toolkit here.

Want to make sure your users know what propositions are on their ballot? We have a new, embeddable ballot information and polling place lookup tool for organizations of any shape and size. All you need to do is copy and paste and you’re ready to go! More information here.

1 Ballotpedia
2 Google Internal Data
3 Google Consumer Surveys
4 ComScore Ad Effectiveness Suite

Ballot Propositions Matter to Voters

While much of the news is focused on the presidential race, on November 8 there will be 165 propositions on the ballot that could impact over 205 million Americans in 35 states.1

When it comes to learning more about their state’s referenda in the final days of the Election, voters are increasingly turning online. That’s why we have launched features in Google Search to help voters learn who and what propositions are on their ballot. And people are searching.

Seventy-five percent of all searches on ballot propositions happen the month before Election Day.2 One out of five voters continue to research their on their phones as they enter the voting booth.3

Digital tools continue to have an impact on voter awareness around ballot measures and new research confirms it.

New research from comScore, in conjunction with Google and the digital campaigns of statewide ballot initiatives, shows how voters exposed to digital advertising react differently to those who were not shown the same content. For voters who saw the display and video advertising, awareness of the ballot proposition increased by 27 percentage points. Furthermore, intent to vote increase by 14 points.4

For voters who saw the display and video advertising, awareness of the ballot proposition increased by 27 percentage points. ComScore Ad Effectiveness Suite

With just one week to go, reaching voters effectively has never been more important. Digital tools offer campaigns a huge opportunity to educate voters and effectively increase awareness and intent to vote. Learn more about how campaigns are reaching voters online through digital advertising here or see Google’s GOTV toolkit here.

Want to make sure your users know what propositions are on their ballot? We have a new, embeddable ballot information and polling place lookup tool for organizations of any shape and size. All you need to do is copy and paste and you’re ready to go! More information here.

1 Ballotpedia
2 Google Internal Data
3 Google Consumer Surveys
4 ComScore Ad Effectiveness Suite

Ballot Propositions Matter to Voters

While much of the news is focused on the presidential race, on November 8 there will be 165 propositions on the ballot that could impact over 205 million Americans in 35 states.1

When it comes to learning more about their state’s referenda in the final days of the Election, voters are increasingly turning online. That’s why we have launched features in Google Search to help voters learn who and what propositions are on their ballot. And people are searching.

Seventy-five percent of all searches on ballot propositions happen the month before Election Day.2 One out of five voters continue to research their on their phones as they enter the voting booth.3

Digital tools continue to have an impact on voter awareness around ballot measures and new research confirms it.

New research from comScore, in conjunction with Google and the digital campaigns of statewide ballot initiatives, shows how voters exposed to digital advertising react differently to those who were not shown the same content. For voters who saw the display and video advertising, awareness of the ballot proposition increased by 27 percentage points. Furthermore, intent to vote increase by 14 points.4

For voters who saw the display and video advertising, awareness of the ballot proposition increased by 27 percentage points. ComScore Ad Effectiveness Suite

With just one week to go, reaching voters effectively has never been more important. Digital tools offer campaigns a huge opportunity to educate voters and effectively increase awareness and intent to vote. Learn more about how campaigns are reaching voters online through digital advertising here or see Google’s GOTV toolkit here.

Want to make sure your users know what propositions are on their ballot? We have a new, embeddable ballot information and polling place lookup tool for organizations of any shape and size. All you need to do is copy and paste and you’re ready to go! More information here.

1 Ballotpedia
2 Google Internal Data
3 Google Consumer Surveys
4 ComScore Ad Effectiveness Suite

Ballot Propositions Matter to Voters

While much of the news is focused on the presidential race, on November 8 there will be 165 propositions on the ballot that could impact over 205 million Americans in 35 states.1

When it comes to learning more about their state’s referenda in the final days of the Election, voters are increasingly turning online. That’s why we have launched features in Google Search to help voters learn who and what propositions are on their ballot. And people are searching.

Seventy-five percent of all searches on ballot propositions happen the month before Election Day.2 One out of five voters continue to research their on their phones as they enter the voting booth.3

Digital tools continue to have an impact on voter awareness around ballot measures and new research confirms it.

New research from comScore, in conjunction with Google and the digital campaigns of statewide ballot initiatives, shows how voters exposed to digital advertising react differently to those who were not shown the same content. For voters who saw the display and video advertising, awareness of the ballot proposition increased by 27 percentage points. Furthermore, intent to vote increase by 14 points.4

For voters who saw the display and video advertising, awareness of the ballot proposition increased by 27 percentage points. ComScore Ad Effectiveness Suite

With just one week to go, reaching voters effectively has never been more important. Digital tools offer campaigns a huge opportunity to educate voters and effectively increase awareness and intent to vote. Learn more about how campaigns are reaching voters online through digital advertising here or see Google’s GOTV toolkit here.

Want to make sure your users know what propositions are on their ballot? We have a new, embeddable ballot information and polling place lookup tool for organizations of any shape and size. All you need to do is copy and paste and you’re ready to go! More information here.

1 Ballotpedia
2 Google Internal Data
3 Google Consumer Surveys
4 ComScore Ad Effectiveness Suite

Get polling place and ballot information quickly and easily

Voting matters — and history proves it. In 1839, the Massachusetts gubernatorial election was decided by just two votes out of 102,066. The same was the case in a 1974 New Hampshire Senate race — out of 233,363 votes, only two made the difference. And in 2008, an Alaskan State House race was decided by a single vote.

With Election Day just 25 days away, it’s time to make your vote count. Throughout the summer, we’ve helped voters find information about how to register and how to vote, in both English and Spanish. Now, as you prepare to head to the polls, we want to make sure you know where to vote and who’s on your ballot when you get there.
Google, for the election

From President and Vice President, to Congressperson and County Commissioner, a simple search for “who’s on my ballot” will help you find info on the candidates, as well as detailed information on your state’s referenda. You can tap on a candidate’s name from your ballot to find information about them, including their party and website.

The final step: showing up! With various polling places popping up across your hometown, we want to make sure you find the info you need from state to state. Starting today and as we continue to add data from each state over the next couple of weeks, whether you’re planning to vote early or in person on November 8, just search “where to vote” and Google will display a polling place location finder as well as voting ID requirements.

While people can find this crucial information right in Google Search, we’re also opening this data up to other organizations for free. From technology companies like Uber, Twitter, Expedia and Hotels.com to nonprofits like Pew Charitable Trusts’ The Voting Information Project, and Democracy Works’ TurboVote Challenge, organizations of all shapes and sizes can use our products and the Google Civic Information API to create tools that get this information into the hands of as many voters possible.

We hope these features will help you get the information you need, when you need it. Your vote matters, so make it count.

Get polling place and ballot information quickly and easily

Voting matters — and history proves it. In 1839, the Massachusetts gubernatorial election was decided by just two votes out of 102,066. The same was the case in a 1974 New Hampshire Senate race — out of 233,363 votes, only two made the difference. And in 2008, an Alaskan State House race was decided by a single vote.

With Election Day just 25 days away, it’s time to make your vote count. Throughout the summer, we’ve helped voters find information about how to register and how to vote, in both English and Spanish. Now, as you prepare to head to the polls, we want to make sure you know where to vote and who’s on your ballot when you get there.
Google, for the election

From President and Vice President, to Congressperson and County Commissioner, a simple search for “who’s on my ballot” will help you find info on the candidates, as well as detailed information on your state’s referenda. You can tap on a candidate’s name from your ballot to find information about them, including their party and website.

ballot_new.width-551.png

The final step: showing up! With various polling places popping up across your hometown, we want to make sure you find the info you need from state to state. Starting today and as we continue to add data from each state over the next couple of weeks, whether you’re planning to vote early or in person on November 8, just search “where to vote” and Google will display a polling place location finder as well as voting ID requirements.

pollingplace_new.width-551.png

While people can find this crucial information right in Google Search, we’re also opening this data up to other organizations for free. From technology companies like Uber, Twitter, Expedia and Hotels.com to nonprofits like Pew Charitable Trusts’ The Voting Information Project, and Democracy Works’ TurboVote Challenge, organizations of all shapes and sizes can use our products and the Google Civic Information API to create tools that get this information into the hands of as many voters possible.

We hope these features will help you get the information you need, when you need it. Your vote matters, so make it count.

Get polling place and ballot information quickly and easily

Voting matters — and history proves it. In 1839, the Massachusetts gubernatorial election was decided by just two votes out of 102,066. The same was the case in a 1974 New Hampshire Senate race — out of 233,363 votes, only two made the difference. And in 2008, an Alaskan State House race was decided by a single vote.

With Election Day just 25 days away, it’s time to make your vote count. Throughout the summer, we’ve helped voters find information about how to register and how to vote, in both English and Spanish. Now, as you prepare to head to the polls, we want to make sure you know where to vote and who’s on your ballot when you get there.
Google, for the election

From President and Vice President, to Congressperson and County Commissioner, a simple search for “who’s on my ballot” will help you find info on the candidates, as well as detailed information on your state’s referenda. You can tap on a candidate’s name from your ballot to find information about them, including their party and website.

ballot_new.width-551.png

The final step: showing up! With various polling places popping up across your hometown, we want to make sure you find the info you need from state to state. Starting today and as we continue to add data from each state over the next couple of weeks, whether you’re planning to vote early or in person on November 8, just search “where to vote” and Google will display a polling place location finder as well as voting ID requirements.

pollingplace_new.width-551.png

While people can find this crucial information right in Google Search, we’re also opening this data up to other organizations for free. From technology companies like Uber, Twitter, Expedia and Hotels.com to nonprofits like Pew Charitable Trusts’ The Voting Information Project, and Democracy Works’ TurboVote Challenge, organizations of all shapes and sizes can use our products and the Google Civic Information API to create tools that get this information into the hands of as many voters possible.

We hope these features will help you get the information you need, when you need it. Your vote matters, so make it count.