As the country holds its breath — and stands in line at the polls — we're proud of the hard work our fellows have done to register voters and get out the vote.

Just a few examples:

3am Saturday morning: I got up, packed my bags, and got in the car of someone who I've never met in person (actually, our prior interaction was just a few exchanges over email and phone). No worries, it's okay. I consented...

I just got back from spending quality time with my mom's side of the family during my cousin's wedding, then a week of mother-daughter bonding in Mazatlan, Mexico. My mom greeted some family members whom we haven't seen since the last family reunion in 2005, by asking the rhetorical question, "Who are you going to vote for?

And the viral element sure seems to be working...

This was forwarded to me this morning... I Vote, You Vote (a project of American Democracy Institute and CREDO Mobile) is "a peer-to-peer system built to get more young people to vote. It is more than just voter registration because it allows politically engaged individuals to finally get their social networks to register."

I sat down with fellows Matt Popek and Trey Thomas to talk about their organization Penn State Represent, the sexiness of non-partisan voter registration and the ways football and politics don't mix. At certain points chaos ensues, and we learn the power of positive thinking. Check it out!

The new Progressive Academy Online course will cover GOTV and Direct Voter Contact. YP4 has partnered with the Young Elected Officials Network to develop the curriculum for this 6-week course that will take a critical look at how to effectively target, contact and persuade voters.

For more information please see the full description for the course here.

To enroll email Verena at varnabal@pfaw.org.  This course is free and open to the public.

A shout-out from a pop star? What works and what doesn't work to register and turn out a young voter?

A new report was released on September 7th by Young Voter Strategies and CIRCLE at the University of Maryland on "Young Voter Mobilization Tactics," a compilation of recent research on traditional and innovative voter turnout techniques.  This booklet compiles results from several of America's top political scientists and practioners on how to reach and win the youth vote, from phone banks to door knocks.  Each tactic is evaluated through a randomized field experiment in order to determine how much that tactic increases a person's likelihood to vote and for its cost-effectiveness.  

The booklet outlines what does not work and is not worth a campaign's time or money, and includes:

· Themes from the research findings

· Research case studies by tactic (with impact & costs analyses)

· Tips for campaigns based on the research findings