In today’s political climate we the people can no longer afford to allow congress to take advantage of the fact that, more often than not, we aren’t listening or paying attention to our government’s legislative activities. People should always trump the will of politicians who, let’s be honest, are often very out of touch with our real needs and daily struggles. Check out these three apps that will help you monitor the activity of your congress men and women, and when necessary, provide them with your feedback.

Countable

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Operating System: Android or IOS

Countable users have described it as the Facebook for people interested in politics and with good reason. Countable allows you to discuss Bills, Issues, and headlines with fellow users. The app goes a step further to present unbiased facts and explanations of different aspects of legislation to really help the user understand the issues at hands and what how opposing sides view them. Users can then send a video or email to congress along with how they would vote on the issue, thus making the app a direct pipeline to the ears of our representatives. If enough people start using the app, our feedback will become harder to ignore, especially since we can find out how a representative votes on any given bill, and choose not to vote for congress members who do not align with our values.

Contact Congress

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Operating System: IOS

Contact Congress is as simple an app as the name suggests. It is a tool for locating your representative in congress, and subsequently calling them on the phone. Although it is unlikely that you will reach your congress person directly, you will more than likely be able to chat with a staffer regarding your concerns. After being empowered with information from Countable, and sending emails, your next step to making your voices heard will be calling members of congress directly to share your thoughts. There is no need to register with this app, simply enter your zip code, and start making calls.

Congress

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Operating System: IOS and Android

The Congress app is a go-to app for everything happening in The House of Representatives. Users remain up-to date on important bills coming up for a vote, who your representatives are, and most importantly, how they are voting, floor activity, and committee meetings. No longer do you have to watch hours of congress on C-Span and media talking heads analysis to find out what’s going on. Through the use of Congress, voters can remain up to date and empowered with this user friendly app.

As we can see, it doesn’t take much to learn the issues, track representative activity, and vote out ineffective politicians. Now more than ever, it is time to for the Black community to get involved and stay involved, let technology be your guide.


Elizabeth Aguirre is a Digital Writer and Retail Design Project Manager living and working in Chicago, Il. When she’s not tweeting about social justice issues, she can be found meditating or blogging at cultureofthechi.com.