INDIANAPOLIS-Indianapolis native Andy Hiodeve has faith in the youth vote.
She said at 11 p.m. Tuesday she knew the youth would come through to elect Barack Obama as the next president.
Minutes later, she was a prophet.
CNN and MSNBC predicted Obama the 44th president.
The room of more than 300 people exploded in screams of joy and applause of happiness. Hiodeve started jumping up and down in excitement.
"Yes we can, yes we can, yes we can," she started yelling with the crowd around her. "I knew we could do it."
Rock the Vote, a nonpartisan group that targets younger voters, reported registering more than 2.5 million new voters. Ball State University Democrats said they registered more than 4,000 students before the Oct. 6 deadline.
Obama's connection with the youth vote started with the Iowa caucus in January and many experts said it is because of the excitement and volunteerism that allowed Obama to get the Democratic nomination.
Eric Schoup, an Obama volunteer, said it is because of efforts like this that Indiana will be competitive in upcoming elections.
"We've developed a base here now so that if we don't win this year we will be competitive the next time," he said.
When Obama gave his acceptance speech Tuesday night, the nearly 100 college-aged voters in the room seemed to stand completely still.
"That was absolutely breathtaking," one man said after Obama's remarks.
Judy O' Bannon, wife to former Indiana Democratic governor Frank O' Bannon, said the youth vote has come from meaning almost nothing in 2000 to turning out in record numbers this election.
"Young voters found a candidate that could represent their issues," O'Bannon said. "When young people are in college they think a lot about their future and in the past they haven't found a candidate that has been positive or helpful to them. Now they realize that you can't invade another country without a good reason, you can't pollute the earth and you're going to need a job after college when you get off your parents health care."
He said, "That stuff all hit them. Then, Barack Obama came and said I'm for change and they clung to that."
Indiana Democratic chairman Dan Parker said Obama's unusual rhetoric caught youth attention.
"They listened to him because he was different and they liked what they heard," Parker said.
Mamadou Diallo said he thought Obama's victory Tuesday had a deeper meaning to the younger voters.
"Obama owes it to the young generation," Diallo said. "He didn't do it, they did."
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