Youth Voters Make History as Turnout Shatters Records in 2008 U.S. Presidential Primaries

Youth Voters Make History as Turnout Shatters Records in 2008 U.S.
Presidential Primaries
Declare Yourself Finds More Than Six Million People Under 30 Voted, More Than
Double 2000 and 2004

LOS ANGELES, June 6 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- With the U.S. presidential
primaries now officially over, it appears that young and first-time voters
18-29 years old registered and voted in record numbers, and that trend is
expected to continue this November according to Declare Yourself, the national
non-partisan, non-profit youth voting initiative.
Based on verifiable data culled from exit polls and other sources, more
than six million people between the ages of 18-29 actually voted in the
presidential primaries, which marks a record. The turnout is more than double
that of both the 2004 and 2000 primaries. The majority of young voters --
approximately 4.9 million -- cast their primary ballot for a Democratic
candidate.
Of the Democratic electorate in states in which exit polling data was
available in both 2004 and 2008, the Declare Yourself analysis shows that
voters aged 18-29 made up 14.5 percent of the electorate in 2008 as compared
with 9.4 percent of the electorate in 2004; a 53 percent increase. On the
Republican side, 18-29 year olds share of presidential primary voters
increased roughly 10 percent, even as turn-out increased in all age groups.
"Now that the smoke has cleared, the final numbers from our analysis are
truly phenomenal," said Marc Morgenstern, executive director of Declare
Yourself. "We're helping to drive youth voter participation to an all-time
high, and we believe young voters will continue to increase and eventually
break records for the U.S. Presidential election in November."
Morgenstern added that general election turn-out is historically much
higher than primary turn-out for all age groups. "Young voters are engaged and
involved in the 2008 election like never before. They will continue to
confound the skeptics and be a significant factor in November."
Having already registered nearly 500,000 voters for the 2008 election,
Declare Yourself is a national nonpartisan, nonprofit campaign that energizes
and empowers every eligible 18 to 29 year-old in America to register and vote.
Using the power of strategic media partnerships, celebrity spokespeople, the
sports arena, and most importantly, mobile and Internet technology, Declare
Yourself's campaign blankets the landscape of popular culture with a simple,
clear message: REGISTER and VOTE! Declare Yourself registered 1.2 million
young people in 2004 and has targeted 2 million registrations in 2008. The
nonprofit, founded by Norman Lear, was launched in 2003 as the culmination of
the Declaration of Independence Road Trip, a nationwide multi-media exhibit
and tour of an original copy of the Declaration of Independence.
SOURCE Declare Yourself

Marc Morgenstern of Declare Yourself, +1-310-321-2247; or Doug Piwinski of
BNC, +1-310-854-4834, for Declare Yourself