**ROCK THE VOTE STATEMENT**EARLY TALLIES SHOW: YOUTH VOTE ON PACE WITH 2006 IN ROCK THE VOTE TARGET MARKETS
Rock the Vote President Heather Smith issues the following statement regarding youth participation in the 2010 midterm elections.
“With several hours before polls close, vote tallies in youth dense precincts across the country show young voters are heading to the ballot box. We are optimistic that young people, including many of the 300,000 people who downloaded a registration form from ROCK THE VOTE this year, will continue to head to the polls. In the last midterm election in 2006, we registered 50,000 people; we’re excited to see the outcome of that increase in participation as the results are announced.
In the communities where Rock the Vote invested resources, we’ve seen a steady pickup in participation among young voters.
For example, in North Carolina’s Raleigh-Durham region we already surpassed 2006 votes totals this morning. We’re also on the ground at the University of Pennsylvania campus in Philadelphia, where all national eyes are on critical races like the fight between Joe Sestak and Pat Toomey for the state’s Senate seat. Turnout at the campus polling location there is on pace with 2006, with several hours left until polls close.
As the 2008 Presidential election has proven, even a small surge in youth turnout could be the determining factor in today’s races.”
FULL ELECTION RESULTS AVAILABLE TOMORROW at 10:00 am ET.
*AUDIO CONFERENCE CALL*
The Center for Information & Research on Civic Learning and Engagement (CIRCLE), Rock the Vote, and The Generational Alliance members will provide an in-depth analysis of young voter turnout in the November 2nd midterm elections at an audio press briefing WEDNESDAY at 10:00 am ET, November 3, 2010.
DIAL-IN: 866-790-1863
ACCESS CODE:
72915128
POWERPOINT PRESENTATION:
http://www.800rollcall.com/webpresenter
RSVP in advance to media@rockthevote.com.
About Rock the Vote | www.rockthevote.org
Rock the Vote engages young people in our democracy and builds their political power by registering, educating and turning them out to vote, by forcing the candidates to campaign to them, and by making politicians pay attention to youth and the issues they care about once in office. For 20 years, we have used music, popular culture, new technologies and old-fashioned grassroots organizing to engage and mobilize young people to participate in every election. By providing them with the information and tools they need since 1990, Rock the Vote has registered more than 5 million young people, including more than 2.5 million in the historic 2008 election. In 2010, Rock the Vote seeks to register 200,000 young voters as part of the largest midterm elections outreach strategy in our organization’s history.