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, CA  – June 6, 2008 – 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.

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!

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