Sunday was our first night hitting the town on the convention party circuit. Chris and I started off the night at the Young Democrats of America convention kick-off party, where we ran into Matt Singer of the Bus Project. The Bus Federation (a.k.a. BusFed) is a the result of grassroots political operations in Colorado, Montana, New Mexico, Oregon and Washington, aimed at mobilizing young voters through canvassing efforts in swing districts. Their “Bus Trips” merge the ever-popular party bus with politics, transporting masses of energetic young volunteers to the targeted districts (unfortunately only one is an old-school yellow school bus… yes, we asked). We managed to pull Matt aside for a quick interview. Click the video to hear the NYT best-selling author sound off on the best tactics for engaging new voters and why this is going to be the year the youth vote will really make a difference.

Video by Chris Nelson. Editing and interview by Torey Van Oot.