Google launches hub for 2012 elections

With Election Day nine months off, Google is getting the U.S. ready for the ballot box. The Web giant today launched an "election hub where citizens can study, watch, discuss, learn about, participate in and perhaps even make an impact on the digital campaign trail as it blazes forward to Tuesday, November 6, 2012," Google elections team member Eric Hysen wrote on the company blog. The Google.com/elections page allows for browsing by candidate or issue, as well as "Trends" browsers that shows how frequently the candidates are the subject of Google searches, Google News mentions, and YouTube views. The page also includes an "On the Ground" map feature that links to recent political news events. "There's no question that the Internet is set to deliver more political information, opinion and news than any other medium throughout the 2012 U.S. elections," Hysen wrote.