http://www.nytimes.com/2016/10/13/technology/personaltech/answering-the-call-of-the-election-season.html 2016-10-12 18:03:21 Answering the Call of the Election Season With their phones, app users can assess their own leanings, debate with others and share politically themed stickers as Election Day approaches. === DISCUSSION of the presidential election is everywhere, from TV to water-cooler conversations. So you might as well embrace it on your phone, with apps to help understand the political positions of candidates and keep up on election issues. Voter This part of the app is actually fun and interesting since it poses straightforward questions — like “Legalize marijuana?” or “Build a border wall?” — that may make you confront your thoughts and feelings. You can tap on a particular issue to learn more, including lists of pros and cons about each one. When you have finished tapping and swiping, you get a list of matches with information about each politician’s or party’s positions. Ostensibly, this makes the app useful in trying to explain the entire election process to youngsters. There is undeniable educational value here. Voter may also help you think about how you will vote, though it’s equally possible that it may just make you angry. The app has a few other features, including a political map that displays in a simple visual style where your beliefs fall on the political spectrum, and a social media link to share your thoughts with friends on Facebook. There is also a section for updates on election news, which draws from numerous sources, including NPR and Fox. Best of all, there is a button to help you register to vote via the An opinion app and a news aggregator, Voter is a bit of everything, and it’s well designed, with an up-to-date, easy-to-use interface. It’s free on Brigade Like Voter, Brigade uses simple questions to gauge your opinion on different political topics, like civil rights. Given a question like, “Are more laws needed to ensure equal pay?” you choose “yes,” “no” or “unsure” with a tap. Then the app shows how many other users agree or disagree with you. After a handful of questions, Brigade tells you which candidates your feelings most closely align with and asks you to “pledge” your vote. This is symbolic only, but the app encourages you to take to social media networks and email to encourage friends and acquaintances to debate with you and perhaps pledge their support. There is also a section where you can interact with other users on particular matters in a chat-roomlike debate. You can even start public debates by stating an opinion or asking a question. Brigade feels more serious than Voter, and its users do seem passionate about their positions. The app, which is free on We the People — Election 2016 For a bit of gaming relief, type “Trump,” “Clinton” or “election” into the app store search box and you’ll find many free games that feature an election motif. I like the Risk-like game called Finally, there are some great new iMessage sticker apps that are election-themed. They are variously funny or offensive, but I prefer the simple The Shazam app is always fun to use, thanks to the magical way it can identify a song after just a few seconds. Now the app’s makers have a lightweight version, Shazam Lite takes up one megabyte of space, and though it’s visually pared down compared to the full Shazam app, it works the same way. It’s