There's an airtight lid on exit polls today after the leaks of 2004, but we are getting early returns about one demographic: the youth vote. According to precinct watchers for Young Voter Strategies, turnout by 2 p.m. for voters in four youth-heavy, college-area districts in Maryland, Michigan, and Ohio had exceeded levels in the last midterm elections. YVS helped sign up half a million voters under 30 this year, and a surge in young voters could spell trouble for the GOP. A September poll found that 42 percent of young adults called themselves Democrats, while 29 percent identified as Republicans. The top three issues this year for the 18-to-24 set: education and college affordability, jobs, and Iraq.