Throughout the election, Campaign Trail Talk has been bringing you reports from MTV’s 51 youth reporters – one from each state and the District of Columbia – who have been providing a unique perspective on what voters of their generation think.

At the Democratic National Convention, MTV Street Team reporters have been checking out political events and attending Denver’s biggest parties. Nevada’s Street Team reporter, 19-year-old Michael Gonzales, was excited to cover a political convention for the first presidential election in which he is old enough to vote.

Gonzales described the convention scene as “complete craziness … and I love it!”

As he travels across Nevada, which is considered by many to be a battleground state, Gonzales has been impressed by how interested citizens are in this election. “Whether they are for McCain or Obama, they have an idea of where they want to see this country … it’s been really refreshing to see that.”

Gonzales and other Street Team reporters have been bringing the convention events to MTV’s readers in real time. Using Twitter, they instantly alert readers to the latest developments. MTV’s readers also can see the action. By using a program called Flixwagon, Gonzales can hold up his cell-phone camera and MTV readers can see what he sees through an MTV webcast, which means when Gonzales spotted actress Eva Longoria at a party, so did MTV readers.

Missed the action in Denver? MTV’s Street Team will be covering the Republican National Convention in St. Paul, Minnesota, beginning September 1. For more, see the Street Team Web site.

And of course Campaign Trail Talk will be in St. Paul, so check back here regularly for updates on Republican deliberations and celebrations in Minnesota

Hours before Barack Obama accepts the Democratic nomination, tight security restrictions already are in place across Denver. In many parts of the city, long lines are forming as people await the Illinois senator’s highly anticipated speech.

Obama will give his speech at Invesco Field, a football stadium that seats about 76,000. The decision to hold his speech in a venue outside the Pepsi Center, which has been the site of other Democratic National Convention events, caused headaches for television journalists who had to shift massive amounts of wires, cables and equipment to the stadium to broadcast the speech. After vice presidential nominee Joe Biden’s speech Wednesday evening, crews worked through the night moving equipment to make sure everything was in place at the stadium for the Thursday speech.

Because of the stadium’s size, tickets were made available to the general public months ago and were snatched up in minutes. And it’s not just the public that scrambled for the hottest ticket in town – not every journalist was given credentials to enter the football stadium. When the State Department’s Foreign Press Center got its hands on some extra passes, it held a lottery for those eager to attend the last big speech of the convention.

Invesco Field is only three-quarters of a kilometer from the Pepsi Center, but the highways that surround the stadium make walking there difficult. For security reasons, the stadium’s parking lot is closed. This leaves journalists and spectators waiting in line for an hour to board a bus for a ride that will last just minutes. Once at the stadium, they will again face long lines to enter the venue.

And the unlucky journalists who did not get tickets to Invesco? They will be filing from their press tents in the Pepsi Center parking lot. The good news is that because no important events are scheduled at the Pepsi Center, the security perimeter has been lifted – Entering and exiting the media area is a shockingly quick and simple process. The hourlong journey to the press tents that many had made all week can now be accomplished in just a few minutes.

Democrats are not the only people in Denver for the Democratic National Convention. Thanks to the help from the National Democratic Institute, nearly 500 foreign dignitaries are getting to observe the presidential nomination process up close. They have met with political leaders, visited the convention site and attended panels examining the future direction of American foreign policy.

NDI participant Khasbazaryn Bekhbat, Mongolia’s ambassador to the United States, said he enjoyed seeing the excitement in the convention hall, which he described as an impressive spectacle.

Like people in many countries around the world, Mongolians are following the presidential election closely, Bekhbat said. “We attach great importance to our relationship with the USA.” Mongolians hope that no matter who wins the election, the next administration will continue that relationship.

Bekhbat will also be visiting St. Paul, Minnesota, which hosts the Republican National Convention beginning September 1.

Since the last national political conventions four years ago, the number of blogs on the Internet has increased drastically. In 2008, even though both political parties have allowed more bloggers access to convention events than ever before, many bloggers interested in covering the Democratic convention were turned away.

Some of these bloggers have found a new home in a tent set up in the parking lot owned by the Alliance for Sustainable Colorado, a group of nonprofit organizations working to promote sustainable development. The tent, nicknamed “the big tent,” is home to 500 bloggers, including some from other countries, who cover a wide range of political and social issues. Bloggers can set up shop at tables or on couches and take advantage of the wireless Internet and watch convention events through a television feed.

The big tent is not just a place for work. Bloggers get free lunch, dinner and even drinks during a daily happy hour. Those looking to take a break can visit the Google lounge for free snacks and services.

The upper level of the big tent is set up like a traditional media briefing room and has hosted political leaders and issue advocates. Actress Daryl Hannah stopped by to discuss climate change.

These speakers are willing to leave the convention area to talk with bloggers because, “in an on-demand world” where people can get their news from any Internet source, these leaders realize that “engaging new media is the way to go,” said Aaron Nelson of the Alliance for Sustainable Colorado.

At the Democratic National Convention in Denver, delegates from the 50 states, the District of Columbia and U.S. territories will be casting their ballots for the next Democratic presidential nominee. So will delegates from the United Kingdom, Italy, Japan, Mexico, India, Japan, South Africa, Lebanon, Switzerland, France and Norway.

Democrats Abroad, an organization of American citizens who live in foreign countries, casts 11 votes on the Democratic nomination. It has sent 22 delegates from around the world; each will cast half a vote.

Margo Miller from London said coming to the convention is a culmination of all the work Democrats Abroad does overseas to help Americans register to vote – and hopefully support Democratic candidates. Democrats Abroad has members in more than 160 countries.

Jo-Ann White, chair of the Florence [Italy] chapter of Democrats Abroad, said she’s met with political leaders from her home state of Massachusetts. Democrats Abroad holds its own election during the primary season, but members must cast absentee ballots from their home states in order to participate in the presidential election. Democrats Abroad members use the convention to remind their home state leaders that votes from overseas matter.

Participating in the convention “helps spread excitement back home [in their country], so they know it’s worth voting,” White said.

Democrats Abroad has a busy agenda in the coming months – its members will be passing out leaflets at major events, visiting schools, hosting parties and film festivals and running other events to register voters and get them excited about the upcoming election.

For more information about U.S. voters overseas, see “Americans Abroad Participate in Republican, Democratic Politics.“

Delaware’s Democratic delegates are excited not only because their own senator, Joe Biden, will be their party’s vice presidential nominee, but because his nomination means that they get better seats at the Democratic National Convention. Originally assigned seats in the back of the Pepsi Center in Denver, the Delaware delegation got bumped up to the front when Barack Obama announced his pick of Biden.

Biden spoke to his state’s delegates today, saying “I just want you to know that this is a great honor, this is a great honor being nominated vice president of the United States and I’m proud of it,” he said. “But it pales in comparison to the honor I’ve had representing you.”

Seating assignments for the convention were allocated very carefully. The convention host state’s delegation, Colorado, gets to sit front and center to the stage, as does Barack Obama’s home delegation of Illinois. Now Delaware gets to be up front too.

The New York Times has published the convention floor-seating chart, and by looking at it one can tell that politics played a role in the assignments. Other states with prime seats include Michigan, Virginia, Florida, Iowa, Pennsylvania, Nevada and New Mexico. What do these states have in common? They are all battleground states. For more information on swing states, see The Electoral College.