DECLARE YOURSELF HAILS RECORD-SHATTERING YOUTH TURNOUT IN TEXAS AND OHIO PRIMARIES

Young voter registration group celebrates historic participation levels

LOS ANGELES – March 5, 2008 – Declare Yourself, the national nonpartisan, nonprofit youth voter registration initiative, today hailed record-level participation by 18-to-29-year-olds in yesterday’s primaries, which nearly tripled youth turnout in Texas and nearly doubled youth turnout in Ohio as compared to the 2000 elections.

“Young voters were inspired by the pivotal nature of yesterday’s races, particularly on the Democratic side, to participate in a wave that swamped prior youth voting levels and continued the unprecedented 18-29 year-old involvement in this presidential campaign,” said Marc Morgenstern, Executive Director of Declare Yourself. “Young voters stated loud and clear that they are an important factor in determining the next president and must be listened to.”

Exit polling (Source: CIRCLE) found that more than 620,000 young people voted in Texas (versus 172,000 in 2000) and youth turnout increased from to 17% from 6% of eligible 18-29 year-olds. In Ohio, more than 479,000 young people voted (versus 260,000 in 2000), an increase to 25% from 15% of eligible young voters. Vermont and Rhode Island numbers were forthcoming.

Morgenstern added that Declare Yourself registered more than 300,000 young voters through its on-line form in late January and early February, as young people sought to meet state registration deadlines to vote in yesterday’s primaries. The organization used email and cellphone text reminders to get out the youth vote. “We have used all the tools of the Internet and social networking to make it much easier for young people to navigate the confusing registration process and participate,” said Morgenstern. “Use of technology has paid off in these record voting numbers.”

Declare Yourself, founded by television pioneer Norman Lear, further confirmed that it has registered unprecedented numbers of young people to vote in the 2008 primaries through declareyourself.com and dozens of on-line partners, including MySpace.com/declareyourself, Yahoo.com, Facebook.com and Votolatino.org. This accelerated registration pace puts Declare Yourself well on its way to exceed its target of 2 million registrations by the general election.

Declare Yourself registered 1.2 million young voters in the 2004 campaign, helping raise participation from 18-to-25-year-olds by 11 percent over the 2000 election. 2004 tallied the highest levels of youth voter participation since the 1970s, but still the lowest of all eligible demographic groups.

About Declare Yourself
Declare Yourself is a national nonpartisan, nonprofit campaign to encourage every eligible 18-29-year-old in America to register and vote in the presidential primaries and 2008 presidential election. 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, as well as universities and high schools, with a simple, clear message: REGISTER and VOTE!

For the 2008 primary season and general election, Declare Yourself is enlisting an unprecedented array of partners including Cricket Wireless, Yahoo!, MySpace, Google, UWIRE, Good Magazine, Clear Channel, Comedy Central, American Eagle Outfitters, Harper Collins, Starbucks, and Voto Latino. Easy registration is available through www.declareyourself.com or by texting VOTE to 55355 on your mobile phone.

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