Google launches voter tool ahead of the presidential election

Ahead of the 2012 presidential election day, Google has launched its Voter Information Tool.

The new online feature allows voters to locate their nearest polling station, early vote venues, and voting rules and requirements separated by state. 

A revamped version of the American voter site released in 2008, an interactive map called "Election Explorer" can be searched to research opinion polls, campaign spending, fundraising and travel data on President Obama and Governor Romney. 

In addition, the Voter Information Tool is linked to the 2012 Election YouTube channel, which contains up-to-date speeches, election rallies and hosts popular videos commenting on the election -- including parodies and commentary. 

For the more technically-minded, the tool can be used to view search trends, consumer patterns and survey results. It is also possible to embed the open-source service on your own website. 

The election season is likely to face its fair share of problems ahead of the voting day on November 6, and altough the arrival of Hurricane Sandy has led to cancelled campaign appearences, grounded flights and widespread power outages, it has also forced early voting stations to close in several states. Early and absentee voting could impact the campaign results in swing states, but Google has also included information on voting by mail which may make life a little easier for frantic voters.