The 2008 Presidential race has been called an historic election, and indeed it has been. Not just for African-Americans and for women, but for young people too. According to data released by the Center for Information and Research on Civic Learning and Engagement, over 2.2 million young voters turned out to the polls this election, many of whom were first-time voters. Several factors contributed to the surge in youth voting, including increased outreach to young voters, new technologies such as online registration and Facebook, and a host of political issues like higher education and the economy that commanded the attention of Generation Y. Barack Obama’s own campaign focused heavily on turning young voters out to the polls. Other groups, like the Student PIRGs' New Voters Project worked at over 100 campuses across the country to increase youth voting turnout by knocking on dorm doors, invading classrooms and even setting up ‘text out the vote’ tables to urge students to the polls.

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