First-time young voters made up 16 percent of the delegates at the Democratic National Convention, but not all is well with the youth vote says Ari Melber of The Washington Independent. "Young people were more likely to be seen than heard" at the DNC blogs Future Majority's Michael Connery. And while young Republicans made up less than two percent of the delegates attending the Republican National Convention (via Burnt Orange Report), it may not matter since Finck Philosophies has noticed that though he thinks Obama's speech at the DNC was his best, the 400 students he teaches have become disinterested and stagnant when it comes to his campaign. Yet this year's youth vote will "mean the difference between sending Barack Obama to the White House and not," says Howard Dean (via Scramblewatch '08).

 Whichever candidate students support, this fall should see schools seeking a more active role in the election process as a way to encourage students to look deeper into the issues reports postcrescent. The Christian Science Monitor reports that students arriving campus should expect supersized efforts to encourage them to cast ballots in November. Students will also find Obama and McCain in a space previously reserved only for friends: social networking sites. Both have launched Facebook and MySpace pages, blogs 11th Hour Brilliance, who also wonders if the numbers of friends each candidate has is any indication of how many youth votes they'll get come fall (it's roughly 7:1 Obama vs. McCain).

Not everyone wants young Americans to stand up and be counted. Students registering in the battleground state of Virginia were the targets of a "chilling" press release (via Inside Higher Ed). GOP delegates at the RNC were privvy to a very unique strategy geared towards keeping young supporters of Obama at home and propelling McCain to the White House (via The Washington Times). All the more reason to Rock the Vote.

If this is your first time at the polls, join CNN's League of First Time Voters and to check out Go College's comprehensive Student's Guide to Voting.