I just got off a press call with Peter Levine, Director of Center for Information and Research on Civic Learning and Engagement (CIRCLE), who discussed the role of young voters (18-29) in this election. These are preliminary numbers based on exit polling so they are approximate.  The statistics will become more clear in the upcoming days.  That being said, the current data demonstrates that young voters played a crucial and historic role in determining the outcome of this election and hence the future of this country.

The youth share of the vote was 18%, up a couple percentage points from 2004, which was also a big year for youth voter turnout.

Approximately 133 million people voted in this election, 24 million of which were young voters.  Votes are still be counted, however and these numbers could change slightly in the next few days.

50-54% of young people voted in this election.  This is second only to 1972, when 55.4% of young people turned out to vote.  Coincidentally, this record turnout came two years after Common Cause was founded in 1970, when Americans were dealing with similar problems both at home (political corruption) and abroad (Vietnam).  1972 was also the first year 18-20 year olds were allowed to vote.