Opinion: Which way will the youth vote go?

This article was originally on a blog post platform and may be missing photos, graphics or links. See About archive blog posts.

Voter registration groups went to incredible lengths this year to register young voters, and reports today from youth-dense precincts in Pennsylvania, Virginia, Florida and Nevada suggest that turnout among 18-29 year-olds will surpass 2004 levels, according to Rock the Vote.

At Drexel University in Philadelphia, 500 votes had been cast as of 10 a.m. Pacific, Rock the Vote is reporting. In 2004, 425 votes were cast there.

At Virginia Tech, 2,465 votes had been cast as of noon Pacific (compared with 2,069 votes in 2004).

And at Florida State University, 721 votes had been cast as of noon Pacific (compared with 625 votes in 2004).

But what does that mean for Barack Obama and John McCain?

We won’t know for sure until tonight, at the earliest. But, as we wrote last month, a recent Gallup Poll found that young voters (18-29) favor Obama over McCain by about 2 to 1.

These predictions aren’t exactly a surprise, of course. Young voters often lean left, and Obama has gone to great lengths to reach young people with technology. In fact, this blogger has already received two text messages today from the Obama campaign, reiterating the get-out-the-vote message it’s been pushing hard for months.

The intrepid journalists at UCLA’s Daily Bruin have taken a closer look at what issues matter to college students heading to the polls. Their results are presented in a narrated slideshow here.

-- Kate Linthicum

To get automatic alerts to each new Ticket item -- on today’s results, tomorrow’s analyses and the construction of a new Washington adminiustration -- go here to register for free.