I-VOTE 2008 was the State Department's signature International Visitor Leadership Program focusing on the 2008 elections. Timed to coincide with the final countdown to Election Day, this multi-regional project gave nearly 100 emerging political leaders the opportunity to observe the historic presidential election and the hundreds of state and local contests around the United States. The 'Election Fellows' traveled in teams to five battleground states and then to 50 communities around the country on Election Day where they observed the U.S. democratic process, experienced political rallies, visited campaign headquarters, met political candidates and observed polling stations. The program concluded in Boston with a closing symposium hosted by Harvard University's Kennedy School of Government to analyze the outcome of the election.