A new President, free software, and a look at an IRC client you probably haven't used yet -- what more could you ask for? Snak is giving out their IRC client today (and there's only a little bit of time left in the day, sorry about that) for free to celebrate the choice of Barack Obama as President of the United States. Whether you support that choice or not, no one would vote against free software, right? Go check it out, enjoy the free download (to get a license, you've got to drop an email note to Obama2008 AT snak.com), and leave the Obama drama for your mama.

Personally Colloquy does pretty much everything I'll ever need in an IRC client, and it's already free (although they do appreciate donations if you enjoy the 'ware). But Snak looks like it's got some cool features too, including an "Mp3 list" for... erm... backup downloading, and an "address book" for all your IRC friends. Seems worth trying out, and today at least, you can't beat the price.

Thanks, Alex D!

Here at the TUAW home office, we're quite distracted by the pending election of the USA's 44th President. However, since this is an Apple blog, we can't go all political -- but we can combine our interests.

Here are four ways you can prepare for the big day with your iPhone.

1. Quiz yourself about the candidates

How well do know the man who'll receive you vote? Fit 2 Vote [App Store link] displays a quote made by either John McCain or Barack Obama. Your job is to identify the quote's origin. Once you've correctly attributed 50 quotes, you're deemed "fit to vote." Fit 2 Vote costs $0.99US.

2. Report on your polling place

Vote Report [App Store link] is the mobile end of the Twitter Vote Report, a network of software developers, designers, and others that allows voters to instantly share the conditions at their polling places. Use your iPhone to alert the media, your neighbors, friends or anyone involved about wait times, machine malfunctions, and especially clever signs in the parking lot. Vote Report is free.

[Incidentally, has anyone ever, in the history of democracy, been swayed by a posterboard sign viewed minutes before voting? You've got to wonder why those people are standing out there in the rain.]

3. Track live results

By now the rhetoric has nearly died down and all that's left is the results. Election [App Store link] provides real-time polling results that can be sorted by state, candidate, percentage and more. You can even limit the results to your candidate, and best of all, there's no stumping. Election only reports the numbers. Election costs $0.99US.

4. Perform electoral math

Votetastic [App Store link] lets you fiddle with electoral votes and observe the results. For instance, you can select a contested state like Ohio and either turn it "red" or "blue." Doing so moves those electoral votes from one side to the other.

Votetastic is really more of a game than a tool, as it doesn't report on real data, but it could be fun to see if your own predictions come true. Votetastic costs $0.99US

Apple issued a short statement on its Hot News page today saying it is publicly opposing California Proposition 8, and donating $100,000 to the No on 8 campaign.

Proposition 8 seeks to amend California's constitution to eliminate the right of same-sex couples to marry. A "no" vote on the measure means marriages between same-sex couples would continue to be valid in California.

"Apple was among the first California companies to offer equal rights and benefits to our employees' same-sex partners, and we strongly believe that a person's fundamental rights -- including the right to marry -- should not be affected by their sexual orientation," the statement read.

"Apple views this as a civil rights issue, rather than just a political issue, and is therefore speaking out publicly against Proposition 8."

Update: Comments on this post are now closed. Thanks for your civil and constructive (mostly) responses.

We're officially a nonpartisan bunch here at TUAW (actually, quite partisan, but only for the Mac) but the announcement of an official iPhone application from the Obama campaign is still worthy of mention. Several high-profile iPhone devs & designers were involved in the project, including formerly-of-Tapulous Mike Lee, Louie Mantia and Tristan O'Tierney. Raven Zachary led the team that included Jonathan Wight and more, all volunteering to rush the app to completion.

In addition to the obvious-but-cool features of the app (download news from the campaign, watch YouTube videos of speeches and endorsements), there is quite a bit of iPhone special sauce. Location awareness means you can see local events or find your nearest campaign office; a 'Call Friends' tool sorts your address book by priority, putting your contacts living in battleground states at the top of the list and letting you reach out to them with a single tap. Very sleek!

Even though there isn't an official McCain campaign application for the iPhone, the App Store has plenty of election-themed apps for voters of either the red or blue persuasion. However you plan to make your voice heard this year, let us give you a gentle reminder that if you're an American citizen over 18, you need to make certain that you're registered to vote.

Thanks to everyone who sent this in.