Two Canadian articles take a look at a new phenomenon with youth voters in the current Canadian Federal elections: Vote Mobs.  Like popular flash mobs – seemingly random, but actually highly coordinated mass outbreaks of song or dance – vote mobs attempt to appeal to youthful love of excitement and spontaneity to encourage political participation.

From Time Transcript: Positive Civic Engagement with a New Twist –

It would seem that our youth are listening and are more politically engaged than we expected. They are expressing themselves, not only by saying that they will get out and vote, but by organizing “vote mobs.”

. . .Vote Mob participants make noise and chant while ducking in-and-out of buildings. Their goal is simple – to celebrate their right to vote and to get their fellow students to do the same.

From The Mark: Vote mobs have caught the attention of the media, but will they get youth to vote?

Following the event, the vote mob goes online with instant postings to YouTube. These posts have a ready audience in the campus community where the vote mob took place – from there spreading to other campuses and going viral. They are very addictive, they are inspiring. Everyone who watches can feel the commitment to civic engagement. They are a national phenomenon as youth from one campus challenge others to draw larger and larger crowds to their vote mobs. It is friendly rivalry that yields the benefit of voter awareness.