At the University of Maryland near Washington D.C.,young Democrats meet to phone voters in nearby "battleground states" - states that tend to swing between Democratic and Republican candidates.Maryland itself tends to vote Democratic in presidential races.Surveys show that young people are less engaged this year than in 2008.But at Maryland, College Democrat President Tyler Grote said there is a lot of enthusiasm for Obama."People are very passionate about what they believe in, especially when there are people with two very different approaches for how they want to run this country," said Grote.A few hundred Maryland students turned out to watch the first presidential debate between Obama and Romney.College Republican Caroline Carlson said the economic situation has dampened the president's appeal."In 2008 it was all about hope and change. They thought they were voting for a celebrity, whereas now, they realize when they are graduating from college,I think the unemployment rate for people who are 20-24 is about 14 percent, which is pretty high," said Carlson.The Romney campaign is trying to win over young voters who turned out for Obama in 2008 by highlighting the economic situation.Republican Vice Presidential Candidate Paul Ryan appealed to young voters in his convention speech in Tampa."College graduates should not have to live out their 20s in their childhood bedrooms,
