Google 2018 Midterms coverage: ‘Go Vote’ Doodle, YouTube reminders, live Search results, more

Abner Li | Nov 6 2018 - 6:32 am PT

Voting in the 2018 Midterm elections for the House and Senate are well underway, while on the state and local level there are a slew of gubernatorial races and various ballots. Google encourages voting around the world and its products from Search to YouTube are in full force today to help with that civic duty and provide results later tonight.

On the off-chance you didn’t realize that today is the first Tuesday after the first Monday of November, the Google app yesterday sent a reminder about Election Day and “where to vote.” That query presents a Knowledge Panel in Search where users can enter their street address to find voting locations and hours, including early voting sites before today.

The “Vote on Election Day” tab notes locations near you and what time they open with a quick shortcut to launch directions. Meanwhile, “How do I register to vote” works in states that allow for same-day registration.

Equally important is Google highlighting polling locations on Chrome’s New Tab page, as well as the homepage. The Google Doodle has been simply updated to “Go Vote” in the four Google colors, with a click searching “Where do I vote #ElectionDay.”

Voting reminders are also available at the top of every YouTube search result, with an “It’s Election Day” banner that links to “Find your polling place.” Meanwhile, the top card in the Play Store highlights how Lyft is offering “discounted rides to polls.”

Other features involve Search leveraging Knowledge Panels to surface information about candidates and ballot measures when searching for a person or initiative.

This will include candidate-authored statements about platforms and legislative priorities for all campaigns that have chosen to post them. Likewise, a query for any statewide ballot measure will render a panel of information and the full text for that initiative.

Ending this wall-to-wall coverage will be real-time results later tonight in Google Search on both mobile and desktop. Searching for “Senate results,” “House results,” or any local race will provide a live summary of incoming returns. Live coverage will also be livestreamed on YouTube by several news channels, with “election 2018” in YouTube TV bringing up a similar list: