Obama Campaign App Tracks Down Democrats

Map shows nearest 'blue' households for canvassers: ProPublica
By Dustin Lushing,  Newser Staff
Posted Aug 3, 2012 4:56 PM CDT
Obama Campaign App Tracks Down Democrats
A new Obama campaign app allows users to see the nearest registered Democrats on a map.   (iTunes)

Click a button on your iPhone and locate the nearest… Democrat? A new app unveiled by the Obama campaign displays a Google map speckled with blue flags representing the closest registered Democratic households to where you're standing, reports ProPublica. Each blue flag is accompanied by a first name, age, and gender. The app is designed to help volunteers connect with voters, and the data was already public, though it was typically available previously through a visit to a field office.

The Obama team said it will be monitoring for any abuses of the new app, but some privacy advocates and regular citizens are resistant. "I do think it's something useful for them, but it's also creepy," said one Brooklyn resident who shows up on it. "My neighbors across the street can know that I'm a Democrat. I'm not sure I like that." Click for the full article. (More Barack Obama stories.)

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