Michigan Daily: Voter turnout in Ann Arbor's youth-dominated areas slips below national average

But an analysis of voter turnout figures by The Michigan Daily suggests that the youth turnout in Ann Arbor trailed the national youth vote.

The average turnout rate in student areas near the university —including precincts near central campus and the residential areas near north campus— was 36.2 percent, according to the article.

Nationwide, the average turnout rate for registered voters under 30 was estimated at 48.3 percent, according to the Center for Information and Research on Civic Learning and Engagement at Tufts University.

The 36.2 percent turnout rate is also significantly lower than the countywide turnout rate. This year Washtenaw County's registered voters averaged a turnout rate of 64.5 percent, or 181,032 voters.

After Obama was declared the victor of the Nov. 6 election, hundreds of students flocked to the Diag to celebrate the president's re-election, chanting "four more years, four more years."

Many students voted for the first time.

"It feels wonderful. I was so excited to turn in my ballot," sophomore Kiana Alexander, who voted in her first presidential election Tuesday, told AnnArbor.com while celebrating at the Michigan Union election party. "I was going to vote straight ticket, but I just wanted to fill in all the bubbles."

• Read the Daily article.