As Election Protection partner Rock the Vote is documenting, this election saw the rise of new and innovative voter suppression tactics aimed at youth, including the use of deceptive text messages and the use of Facebook.
Nevertheless, early indicators point to possible historic levels for young people turnout. For instance, CNN exit polls are showing that the youth in Virginia made up 21% of the voters, as compared with 17% in 2004. In Pennsylvania, youth made up 18% of the vote this year. At the precinct for Ohio State University, the number of voters rose 16% from 2004 levels.
Despite all the efforts to keep the youth home, this year it looks like the youth owned their right to vote and headed to the polls.
