Best U.S. election apps for iPhone — find out who'll be the next president!

By Lory Gil
published

If you live in the U.S. — and maybe even if you don't! — the 2016 presidential election is on everyone's mind. If you want to keep track of early predictions, exit polls, and final results, you can do so without having to sit in front of your television set for 10 hours straight. Instead, take these iPhone apps with you where ever you go and you can follow the election while having a nice dinner at a restaurant, playing a quick game of basketball, or drinking yourself into oblivion because you are worried that the country is doomed!

CNN Politics

CNN is probably the best-known channel to cover the U.S. presidential election and the company's Politics app sticks to the subject. You can get regularly-updated analyst insights on how both candidates are doing, latest news on the campaign trail and what Clinton and Trump are up to during the last few hours of the day, and CNN poll results for who is winning. The news organization's "Road to 270" electoral collage map is a great reference for getting an idea of how the country is leaning leading up to the official day. You can check in with the mobile app whenever you want updates about every minutia of the presidential election.

Download now (opens in new tab)

CBSNews

CBS lets you live stream news broadcasts without requiring a cable sign-in. So, if you are a cable cutter, you can still watch regular coverage of the U.S. presidential election from your mobile device. You also don't have to stay with the live stream. You can catch up with segments you've missed by checking out trending clips, reading up on in-depth stories, or even just switching over to some entertainment news for a break.

Download now (opens in new tab)

Twitter Moments

Leading up to November 8, you can keep track of all-things-presidential with Twitter's Election 2016 feed. You can keep up on trending sentiment about each candidate, big news about the election in the Twitter-verse, and more. Come election day, BuzzFeed will live-stream coverage on Twitter with staff analyzing the events as they unfold. If you get your daily dose of news from organizations like BuzzFeed, and express your opinion on social platforms like Twitter, this is a marriage made in heaven for you. You can cover all of your bases in one place.

Download now (opens in new tab)

Politico

Politico is a powerhouse of election coverage, almost on par with CNN, but with a lot less high-production gloss. Some of the most helpful bits of content the media outlet has in its app are the Key Race Results tools. You can watch how the electoral votes count up from the real-time grid (hint: If you tap the segmented bar, you'll see how many electoral votes each state is designated). You can track which states voted republican, democrat, or another party, plus keep track of which country's votes aren't in yet. With the Election Countdown coverage, you can see which way people are leaning based on different organization's polling data.

Download now (opens in new tab)

The Guardian

If you just want the facts and none of the details, you can get a notification from The Guardian that updates, live. When you sign in to the mobile app and allow notifications, you will receive one mobile alert that will automatically update throughout the day on election day. The notification will include electoral votes won and states called. You'll also see which swing states have been called and a popular vote breakdown. You don't have to open the Guardian app to read this information. It is all updated via the one notification you will receive on your iPhone on November 8.

Download now (opens in new tab)

Showtime

You may have heard already that Stephen Colbert's election night Late Show is being preempted by actual news coverage of the event. Instead, the comedian will host a live, show on Showtime during the election. He is promising surprise cameo appearances, non-stop jokes, and nudity, though he won't reveal who will be full-frontal. If the stress of following election coverage gets to be too much for you, you can switch over to the SHOWTIME app if you don't have cable, or the Showtime Anytime app (opens in new tab) if you do, and soak up some levity for an hour.

Download now

NPR One

If you'd rather listen to news than watch it, you can listen to coverage of the presidential election from the NPR One app. When you allow the app to know your current location, it will suggest your local public broadcasting station. You can always switch to a different station manually. The coverage will start at 8PM ET/ 5PM PT and will continue throughout the night.

Download now (opens in new tab)

How are you following the election?

Do you have a plan to stay up to date with everything relating to the U.S. presidential election on November 8? How are you going to stay connected while mobile? Let us know in the comments.

Lory Gil
Lory Gil

Lory is a renaissance woman, writing news, reviews, and how-to guides for iMore. She also fancies herself a bit of a rock star in her town and spends too much time reading comic books.  If she's not typing away at her keyboard, you can probably find her at Disneyland or watching Star Wars (or both).

12 Comments
  • I'll stir the pot...Go Trump! Sent from the iMore App
  • Mod Note: Please don't troll - there are folks here from both sides (or neither).  Discussions are fine, but trying to stir things up won't be allowed.
  • I'm just here for the comments. Got my popcorn ready.
  • Ugh. I'd rather download the Kim Kardashian app.
  • I'd rather vote for Kim Kardashian West. Actually Kris Jenner would be better choice. Posted via the iMore App for Android
  • There is no other candidate more qualified to be the POTUS than: Pat Paulsen! This great american and stellar statesman originally announced his candidacy on the Smothers Brothers show in 1968! And, for you cynics out there, I want to emphasize that, just because he’s no longer alive, should not disqualify him for president—especially this year!! (And please note that I didn’t exactly say he was dead, he’s just never really been that alive.) Read the following quotes from this legendary politician and see if you don’t agree that he’s the only one who can make america fake again! “I read an article that said one in five Americans thinks Elvis is alive. I want to find those morons and get them registered to vote for me.” “If elected, I will win.” “I’ve upped my standards. Now, up yours.” “Assuming either the Left Wing or the Right Wing gained control of the country, it would probably fly around in circles.” Pat Paulsen on gun control: “A gun is a necessity. Who knows if you're walking down a street and you spot a moose?” “You can fool some of the people all of the time and all of the people some of the time, but you can only make a monkey out of the voters every four years!”—Pat Paulsen "All the problems we face in the United States today can be traced to an unenlightened immigration policy on the part of the American Indian.” "I don't want to say too much about illegal immigration. I'm afraid my views will be reported on the Cinco O'Clock News." On the Miranda warning: "Why should we tell kidnappers, murderers, and embezzlers their rights? If they don't know their rights, they shouldn't be in the business.” "A good many people feel that our present draft laws are unjust. These people are called soldiers.” "*** doesn't have to be taught. It's something most of us are born with.” When originally "denying" he was running, borrowing from General William Sherman in 1884: "I will not run if nominated, and if elected I will not serve.” "We have nothing to fear but fear itself...and of course the boogieman.” "I am neither left wing nor right wing. I am middle-of-the-bird.” "Marijuana should be licensed and kept out of the hands of teenagers. It's too good for them.” On network censorship: "Censorship does not interfere with the constitutional rights of every American to sit alone in the dark, in the nude and cuss. But let's face it; there have to be some realistic taboos ... especially with political comment. After all, the leaders of our country were not elected to be tittered at. The censors have to draw the line somewhere. For instance, we are allowed to say Ronald Reagan is a lousy actor ... but we're not allowed to say he's a lousy governor ... which is ridiculous ... we know he's a good actor ... And you can't say ANYTHING bad about President Johnston (sic) ... because you shouldn't insult the President ... but if you compliment him ... who will believe it?” On his political affiliation: "I belong to the Straight Talking American Government Party, or STAG Party for short.” Go Pat! [Edit: Wow! Looks like the word "ess-eee-exx" was censored. Really?!]
  • Trump 2017 Posted via the iMore App for Android
  • You couldn't include a single conservative news source to with all these liberal ones?
  • I don't want to know who the next president will be. Ugh.
  • Donald Trump and Hilary Clinton will make Canada great again.
  • Honestly, I don't come to this site for this. Its bad enough its everywhere else, why do I need an app. My phone notifications are going to explode Tuesday night anyway.
  • I voted over 3 weeks ago with my absentee ballot and on election night, I'm going to the gym. After that, I'll go home and watch something on netflix then go to bed. When I wake up, I'll see who won and then go to work. In other words, I'll be doing just about the same thing as yesterday.