Some polling places ran out of ballots. Others had armed police officers present, a violation of state election rules. Some voters endured hours of waiting, in some places as long as eleven hours, and malfunctioning ballot machines, a few which stubbornly voted for the candidate that the voter did not choose. Pollsworkers ran out of ballots or people who weren't registered by a pollworker voted by sneaking into the voting booth through a side door.

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:

According to a NY Times investigation, voter rolls have been trimmed in six states-- Colorado, Indiana, Ohio, Michigan, Nevada and North Carolina--as a result of state governments botching compliance with 2002 election leigslation meant to overhaul and streamline the voter registration process.

"When did you say you mailed in your voter registration form?"

"About two months ago," I said, ear pressed to the phone.

"That's not what I like to hear," she sighed.

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

There was some great coverage in this morning’s Congress Daily of a press conference organized yesterday by the Student Association for Voter Empowerment (headed by former YP4 Fellow Matthew Segal) and People For the American Way Foundation with key Congressional leaders on the problems young voters are likely to face during this upcoming election season.

Campus Camp Wellstone's Mattie Weiss just posted a scathing entry about the underresourcing of young voter organizing at a time when we have the potential to decide the presidential election.

She notes:

[N]umbers indicate that 6.5 million people under 30 voted in this year's primaries and caucuses, and that the overall youth vote has risen from 9 percent in 2000 to 17 percent in 2008.

Meanwhile, who are campaigns focusing on? Swing voters and “hockey moms.”

This year going back to school is about far more than returning to campus – it’s about changing history. For many a trip to the ballot box will be right around the corner, and some will cast their first ever vote for president. We want to be sure that the youth voice is heard. But it won’t be unless young people are prepared for the challenges they may face at the polls.

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!