As of 6:00 PM EST, still a few hours before the close of polls, a growing number of youth-dense precincts have already surpassed the final turnout numbers in 2002, with students still streaming to the polls. Youth-dense precincts in Ohio, Colorado, Michigan and Maryland show youth turnout already exceeding 2002, the last midterm election.

These early reports signal a third straight year where youth voter turnout increased.  In 2004, 18-24 year old turnout surged by 11 percentage points, three times the rate of the general population.

I work with the Student PIRGs' New Voters Project, one of the nation's largest nonpartisan, youth-led voter mobilization campaigns working to turn out the youth vote.  Through our efforts, students are conducting Get Out the Vote activities on 80 college campuses in 15 states. Earlier in the fall, these students registered over 75,000 new young voters, and in the past week those same volunteers have been working around the clock to contact and remind their fellow students to cast their ballots.