Google Introduces New Features for the U.S. Elections

According to Alphabet Inc, Google introduced a new features to its search engine on October 16, called Maps. It also includes a voice assistant to help voters in the United States find their nearest voting locations. Google offers new features, including details on polling places, early voting locations, and ballot drop-off areas.

The information appears in search results if someone, for example, enters the question “vote drop boxes near me.”

The update comes as millions of Americans have already started voting ahead of Election Day on November 3.

Additionally, Google Maps will also provide voting hours and directions to voting places. The company would soon allow people to search for that information on its smart speakers and smart displays.

Google and Facebook, Silicon Valley’s leading companies, have worked non-stop to provide people information on voting and voter registration. Moreover, last month, Facebook announced it’d registered 2.5 million Americans to vote.

Tech companies have been eager to show they can benefit from the electoral process after facing fierce criticism for their missteps in 2016. That election was marred by interference from Russia. Which exploited platforms from Google, Facebook, and Twitter to influence the contest’s outcome.

YouTube Provides Information about Mail-in Voting

Moreover, one of the world’s leading companies, YouTube, announced last month that it would provide people with information on mail-in voting when they watch videos about the same subject.

It is essential to mention that information like this is very significant this year. Particularly, since many more voters are likely to use mail-in ballots during the Coronavirus pandemic. According to Google, it has partnered with the Voting Information Project (VIP) to source the voting location information. Moreover, it lists more than 200,000 voting locations nationwide. If this information is not accessible to provide directly, Google states it will point users towards state and local election websites.

Moreover, the ballot-casting system has become filled with misinformation. However, the United States President, Donald Trump has attempted to discredit the process. While providing no evidence of security defects in the time-tested method.

Google-owned YouTube announced that its software would add a text panel to accompany vote by mail videos in order to provide people with more context. Moreover, YouTube would add links to information from the Bipartisan Policy Center, a Washington DC-based think tank.

Moreover, the giant company Google also announced last month that it would block autocomplete suggestions in its search engine for queries linked to voting procedures, such are: you can vote by phone, or you can’t vote by phone.