DECLARE YOURSELF ANNOUNCES NEARLY 24 MILLION 18-29 YEAR OLDS VOTE IN HISTORIC 2008 PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION

Youth Vote a Driving Force Behind Victory of President-Elect as Demographic Sets Record as 66% of 18-29 Year Olds Vote For Winning Candidate

Exclusive Election Survey Reveals Motives Behind The Youth Vote

LOS ANGELES, CA  – November 5, 2008 – The remarkable efforts of Declare Yourself, the national nonpartisan, nonprofit youth voter initiative, helped contribute to a historic and record-breaking voter turnout amongst 18-29 year-olds. According to a CIRCLE analysis of National Exit Polls and other data, between 22 and 24 million young voters cast a ballot to declare their choice for the next president of the United States. It is estimated that 49.3% to 54.5% of eligible 18-29 year-old voters participated in the electoral process. This is up from 19.4 million voters in 2004, where 48% of youth electorate cast a vote. 66% of 18-29 year old voters said they voted for president-elect Barack Obama, the highest level of youth support for a presidential candidate since tracking began in the 1970s, and a leading factor in his victory.

On Election night, Declare Yourself and Luntz Maslansky Strategic Research conducted an in-depth scientific poll of eight hundred 18-29 year olds to find out what motivated young voters at the polls. Almost 50% young voters surveyed cited the cost of living and the job market as the issues that matter most to them. About 38% of young people surveyed said negative ads were what most turned them off during the campaign. For the first time ever, youth voters said they got the majority of their political news from Internet sources. The results of the full survey will be released later this week.

“Young people loudly declared themselves as full, active partners in determining the future of our country,” said Norman Lear, Declare Yourself founder. “We will continue to give them the tools and the inspiration to recommit themselves to the founding principles of our nation through action and engagement in the years to come.”

Declare Yourself’s massive outreach drew on the power of the internet, print media, social networks, events, direct youth outreach and innovative sponsorships with entities such as MySpace, MTV, Google, AOL, Yahoo! and The Ellen DeGeneres Show. Over 2.2 million young people either used Declare Yourself’s on-line registration tool or registered through its Ultimate College Bowl national contest. More than four million received text reminders on their cell phones to register and vote. Over 5.1 million people viewed Declare Yourself’s line-up of viral video and TV PSAs; Declare Yourself’s “Only You Can Silence Yourself” print and video campaign featuring Jessica Alba and Hayden Panettiere received more than 100 million media impressions through print outlets such as Rolling Stone, Time, Seventeen, Sports Illustrated and People.

“I was extremely proud to play a small part in what was a historic moment for young people getting involved in the political process,” said Jessica Alba, Declare Yourself spokesperson. “This generation has used their power to make a huge difference in this election.” Alba collaborated with Brandon Kraines and Michael Abbott of United Front Films on the “Silence Yourself” video, and with photographer Mark Liddell on the print campaign.

Declare Yourself yielded hundreds of thousands of registrations with initiatives that included:
• A month-long registration program on The Ellen DeGeneres Show
• A series of promotions on Fox TV’s So You Think You Can Dance
• Public service announcements featuring four NFL players in the 2008 Super Bowl Pre-Game Show on Fox Sports
• An episode of MTV’s “The Hills” largely devoted to Declare Yourself
• A series of shared events and on-line promotions with the MySpace Impact Channel
• A nationwide VOTE shirt campaign with American Eagle Outfitters
• On-the-ground registration events with Six Flags, the Warped Tour, the Indianapolis 500, and the cast of ABC Family’s show Greek at Follet college bookstores
• A Declare Yourself book, published by Harper Collins’ Greenwillow Books AND
• 16-city tour of Mr. Lear’s original copy of the Declaration of Independence underwritten by Cricket Wireless.

“I think the extraordinary numbers coming out of this election prove unequivocally this demographic wants to make a difference and has a remarkable power to do so,” said Marc Morgenstern, Declare Yourself Executive Director. “Declare Yourself will continue to challenge ourselves to reach 18-29 year olds and give them voice as our nation proceeds through a trying time. After all, no one has a greater stake in our country’s future than our young people.”

ABOUT DECLARE YOURSELF
Declare Yourself is a nonpartisan, nonprofit campaign to empower every eligible American, 18-to-29 years old, to register and vote in the 2008 presidential election. Through the power of strategic media partnerships, celebrity spokespeople, retail outreach, sports and, most importantly, digital technology and social media, Declare Yourself has created a campaign that embraces the landscape of youth peer and popular culture to lead young people to higher levels of true civic participation.

In 2003, Declare Yourself launched its initiative with The Declaration of Independence Road Trip, a nationwide multimedia exhibit and tour of Norman Lear’s original copy of the Declaration.

Led by Norman Lear, Declare Yourself has an advisory board of leaders from the political and media worlds including many influential figures with their fingers on the pulse of the 18-29 demographic, including NBC Entertainment/ NBC Universal Television Studio co-chairmen Ben Silverman, trend specialist Atoosa Rubenstein, online video expert James Kotecki, producer J.J. Abrams and television personality Tyra Banks. The Declare Yourself Advisory Board has the ability to spread the message of the organization to America’s youth. Corporate partners with Declare Yourself include Cricket Wireless, Yahoo!, MySpace, Google, AOL, Clear Channel, Comedy Central , Starbucks and The Gap.

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