The youth vote has become one of the hottest topics in the federal election campaign, as "vote mobs" of students have taken place across Canada and videos encouraging young people to cast ballots on May 2 have gone viral on social networks.

A new mob is arising in Canada, and this one should be heartily encouraged. It's the "vote mob" movement that in recent days has been spreading to universities across the country, including McGill in Montreal, and consists of young people urging their peers to get out and vote in the coming federal election.

New Voters Project members attribute their success partly to their refusal to tell potentially interested voters which candidates to support. But both Democratic and Republican organizations doing grass-roots work say they are having success through peer-to-peer contacts.

One Washington-based group, 21st Century Democrats, has started a "Vote Mob" project aimed at registering 1 million new young voters in Oregon, Minnesota and Ohio using a mix of paid staffers and volunteers and $2.1 million in funds.