The official Web site of the State of Rhode Island, www.ri.gov, saw heavy traffic on its Board of Elections Results page, www.ri.gov/elections/results, during the November 6^th General Elections. Google Analytics reports that during the General Election, the Board of Election Results page received nearly 200,000 page views on average with most users spending at least a minute and a half reading page content. This number has increased since the last General Election in 2008, where the number of page views reached 124,000 and the average time spent reading content was less than a minute.

The spike can be attributed to the increase in mobile phone usage to access information over the web. Over 20,000 page visits were specifically from mobile devices with an average page visit of nearly 12 seconds. In 2008, the average time spent accessing RI.gov during the General Election was 7 seconds, so not only are users accessing the web more often from their mobile device, but they’re also spending more time reading content. Out of all page visits, the top three mobile devices used to access elections results were Apple iPhone, Apple iPad, and Apple iPod. This year, RI.gov optimized the site for mobile first, desktop second. The concept is called responsive design and the result is a faster, better experience for everyone without the need for additional application downloads, although an iPhone application is available in the iTunes store.

Some features of the Apple iPhone application include:

• Tweets from state agencies and officials
• The latest state government news
• Access to RI.gov online services

The RI.gov Apple iPhone application provides a quick reference to state agencies, services, maps and current news. The application makes it easy to locate online government services through a simple search interface or through topical browsing.

The www.ri.gov Web site has over one million visits each year and the new responsive design template and iPhone application provide another gateway for citizens to interact with government. For more information, visit www.ri.gov/mobile.

About RI.gov

RI.gov (http://www.RI.gov) is Rhode Island's homepage and official Web site, a collaborative effort between the state of Rhode Island and Rhode Island Interactive. The RI.gov Web site and online services are developed and maintained by Rhode Island Interactive, a Providence-based part of eGovernment firm NIC’s (NASDAQ: EGOV) family of companies.

About NIC

NIC (NASDAQ: EGOV) is the nation's leading provider of official state government portals, online services, and secure payment processing solutions. The company's innovative eGovernment services help reduce costs and increase efficiencies for government agencies, citizens, and businesses across the country. NIC provides eGovernment solutions for more than 3,500 federal, state, and local agencies that serve 97 million people in the United States. Additional information is available at http://www.egov.com.