Subject: [big campaign] Young Voter Revolution Overthrows Conventional Wisdom
From: "Alexandra Acker" <[email-masked]>
To: [email-masked]
Date: Wed, 5 Nov 2008 02:08:53 -0500
List-Id: <bigcampaign.googlegroups.com>

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE                                          Contact:            Alexandra Acker

November 5, 2008                                                                                 202-256-7183

 

YOUNG VOTER REVOLUTION OVERTHROWS CONVENTIONAL WISDOM

Young Democrats of America Swing Races Across Country

Washington, DC - The Young Democrats of America's Young Voter Revolution campaigns helped swing elections all over the country, contacting a record 150,000 young voters in eight key states.  Thousands of Young Dems mobilized their peers all over the country.  Over 1,300 paid canvassers, street teams, and volunteers worked to get out the youth vote for Democrats up and down the ballot.

"We saw a true revolution tonight, as young voters turned out in for President-Elect Obama by an astonishing 38 points and created a seismic shift in our electorate," said David Hardt, President of the Young Democrats of America.  "This is a historic night for Young Democrats, the Democratic Party, and our country."

On and before Election Day, the Young Democrats mobilized young voters across the country through emails, text messages, and Facebook messages, as well as our peer to peer canvasses and phone banks in targeted states.  After receiving numerous reports of deceptive practices aimed at students, YDA responded swiftly to get accurate information out to impacted voters.  

YDA's Young Voter Revolution campaigns target young people at their homes and hangouts by using both door to door canvasses and street teams, focusing on in-person, peer to peer contact.  YDA targets young people under the age of 36 in areas where the youth population can swing key elections.  Young Voter Revolution campaigns also employ new media, particularly SMS text messaging and interactions on social networking websites like Facebook.  Our Young Voter Revolution campaigns targeted young voters and members in all 50 states but focused on Arkansas, California, Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Ohio, Utah, and Virginia.

"There is no doubt that the Millennial generation established themselves as a political force tonight," said Alexandra Acker, Executive Director of YDA.  "Across the country, we saw unprecedented enthusiasm among young voters, from Virginia to Ohio to Colorado to California.  Young people were the margin of victory for Democrats up and down the ballot, all across the country."

There are 44 million young voters eligible to vote in 2008, 22% of all voters.  Final turnout estimates will be available in the coming days.

Go to www.youngvoterrevolution.com <http://www.youngvoterrevolution.com/>  to read blog posts from organizers, check out photos from events, and review resources like our campaign toolkit, Election Protection guide, and online vote pledge.

 

The Young Democrats of America (YDA) is the largest youth-led, national, partisan political organization, with over 2,300 chapters in all 50 states.  Our members include middle school, high school and college students as well as young workers, young professionals and young families. YDA's Young Voter Revolution campaigns use a tested field model that identifies young voters, engages them in peer-to-peer communication and education, and then uses traditional and innovative methods to turn out the vote. 

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