#Election2014: keeping you informed on the midterms

By tradition, the first Tuesday of November is election day in the U.S. Twitter can help you prepare to vote today and then help you stay engaged with your elected officials after all the votes are counted.

Our @gov team compiled a list of Twitter accounts comprised of the Secretary of State (the office that oversees elections) for every state, plus other relevant accounts offering voter information. Along with some other technology entities, Twitter has joined with the Pew Charitable Trusts’ Voting Information Project to launch the “Get to the Polls” initiative (www.gettothepolls.com). The tool helps voters find their official polling places (and their hours), plus a full ballot summary based on their home addresses.

Races to watch

This midterm, citizens will go to the polls to choose candidates for 435 U.S. House seats, 36 U.S. Senate seats and 36 gubernatorial races, among other local measures. Of the contested seats, 92% of the candidates and incumbents use Twitter. During the weekend before election day, these 10 races generated the highest volume of local Tweets per capita:

1. New Hampshire U.S. Senate - @JeanneShaheen vs. @SenScottBrown
2. Alaska U.S. Senate - @MarkBegich vs. @DanSullivan2014
3. Wisconsin gubernatorial - @Burke4WI vs. @ScottWalker
4. Iowa U.S. Senate - @BruceBraley vs. @JoniErnst
5. Maine gubernatorial - @Michaud2014 vs. @LePage2014 vs. @EliotCutler
6. Rhode Island gubernatorial - @GinaForRI vs. @AngelForRI vs. @MayorFung
7. Massachusetts gubernatorial - @MarthaCoakley vs. @CharlieForGov
8. North Carolina U.S. Senate - @KayHagan vs. @ThomTillis
9. Tennessee U.S. Senate - @GordonBall4TN vs. @LamarAlexander
10. Kentucky U.S. Senate - @AlisonForKY vs. @Team_Mitch

In the run-up to today, many of the candidates, campaigns and political parties have used Twitter and @Vine to mobilize voters:

As of now, here are the percentages of major U.S. government officials on Twitter. Click on each to find and follow politicians from each office.

• Senate: 100%
• House: 99%
• Cabinet: 100% of all 15 agencies plus 9 out of 15 Cabinet secretaries
• Governors: 100%
• Mayors: 96% of mayors from the 25 most populous U.S. cities

You can discover more state-by-state data on our #Election2014 dashboard at election.twitter.com, where you’ll also see Twitter accounts related to the U.S. candidates for governor, Senate and House. You can follow the 1600+ Twitter accounts belonging to #Election2014 candidates and retiring incumbents here.

Don’t forget to vote and follow @gov for the latest #Election2014 insights!