With a newly inaugurated president that has extremely polarizing policies and a Congress that has an approval rating of 19 percent, according to the latest Gallup poll, (Jan. 4-8) it is more important than ever to know what is going on in politics. Countable, an app that lets you keep your elected representatives accountable, is a great tool to keep you involved. The app is available, for free on the iOS and Google Play Store, and all you need to sign up is your mailing address and zip code.
Countable updates you with current political events, such as the happenings at the U.S. capitol for the upcoming week or a new executive order signed by the president. The app allows you to voice your opinion on bills that are up for consideration in Congress, by voting yay or nay. You can see how your peers feel by looking at the comments below a featured bill. Congressmen can directly see how voters are reacting to proposed bills, possibly swaying their decisions. It also allows you to see which way lawmakers have voted on important issues in the past, so you can make an informed decision come mid-term election season. In addition, the political app describes bills in laymen’s terms so that they can be easily understood by an average citizen, and provides a short, unbiased explanation of why you may support or be against the proposed legislation.
If you feel particularly strongly about a bill up for a vote you can send your elected representatives a quick message, email, or even a short video to let them know you are really serious, via the app. Countable also lists your legislator’s office numbers, if you would like to speak with them over the phone.
The user can also customize his or her feed by choosing from hundreds of top issues that they feel are important, ranging from immigration to climate change. Then legislation involving these topics is more likely to be shown on your feed.
Countable was reviewed as “relevant as ever” and awarded App of the Day on Jan. 30 by Mashable, a tech review website.
However, the app doesn’t come without its fair share of drawbacks. For example, being able to talk to your representative with a few taps from anywhere in the world takes the human connections out of politics. Furthermore, the app makes it so easy to contact your representatives, elected officials can be overwhelmed by the huge influx of notifications from citizens. It’s much easier to text your senator 10 times than to call them 10 times.
For a millennial who doesn’t have time to watch the news on TV, but cares about the way that the government is operating, this is an invaluable resource.
