FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Monday, November 5, 2012 Contact: Brad Luna, 202-812-8140 (cell) brad@lunamediagroup.

com

Guide to Youth Voters in 2012 Election To Be Released: Exclusive Young Voter Turnout # and Comprehensive, Expert Analysis of the Youth Vote
Medford/Somerville, Mass. Young voters may play a decisive role in this years elections. Before, during, and after Election Day, the preeminent youth research organization located at Tufts University the Center for Information & Research on Civic Learning and Engagement (CIRCLE) will provide commentary, data and analysis about these voters and the issues that matter most to them. At 12 noon (ET) on the day after the election (Wednesday, November 7), CIRCLE and Rock the Vote will hold a joint telephonic press conference where experts at both groups will provide in-depth analysis regarding the role young Americans played on Election Day, and researchers from CIRCLE will release exclusive estimates on the youth turnout rate for the 2012 election. Youth turnout is the percentage of all eligible youth who voted. Please visit CIRCLEs website to view a graphic explaining the difference between the youth share of the electorate and youth voter turnout. (See the Backgrounder below for a summary of CIRCLEs vast amount of youth voting-related research.) Additionally, both organizations will provide a day-after glimpse of some of the most compelling stories from the field, and give an overview of the ways young voters played a vital role in our countrys democratic process in 2012. WHAT: National Press Conference Call to Release Exclusive Youth Turnout Data & Analysis of the Role Young Voters Played on Election Day WHO: Heather Smith, President, Rock the Vote and Peter Levine, Director, CIRCLE WHEN: 12noon (ET) 1pm (ET) on Wednesday, November 7, 2012 WHERE: Toll-Free (US & Canada): (888) 567-1602 International Dial-In (Toll): (201) 604-5049 ** To reserve a line for the call, please RSVP to zoe@berlinrosen.com or brad@lunamediagroup.com. ** Last week, CIRCLE released the latest installment of a national youth-only poll commissioned by the Youth Engagement Fund (YEF). The poll investigated young Americans' views of the 2012 election, the economy, tuition costs, and other top national issues, as well as their understanding of voting laws. Last weeks YEF Survey data revealed some significant changes in young voters attitudes since the summer (the previous iteration of this survey was released on July 31st). Many of the same respondents were surveyed both times, providing unique and rigorous insights into their changing views.

The key summary and analysis from the CIRCLE poll, commissioned by the Youth Engagement Fund (YEF), released last week includes: INFOGRAPHIC: Youth Poll Shows Engagement and Intention-to-Vote Rises Since Summer, Many Factors Influence Youth Voting Young Voters and The Horserace: 52.1% Obama v. 35.1% Romney Knowledge of State Voting Laws Still Lacking Since Summer: Obama + 10 points with African-Americans and +14 points with Latino Youth Outreach to youth: 11.5% of college youth but just 5.8% of non-college youth have been contacted on behalf of Obama; 3.5% of college youth and 6.6% of non-college youth for Romney

BACKGROUND
Founded in 2001 and long recognized as the leading academic center on youth political engagement, CIRCLE provides a seasoned team of experts on young voters with a long history of speaking on-the-record about youth voting and related issues, such as civic education and youth in the media. CIRCLE has been tapped by numerous national, top-tier print, radio, and TV news outlets, including MSNBC, NPR, CNN, Politico, Fox News, Washington Post, USA Today, and the NY Times. CIRCLEs mission is to serve as a non-partisan, independent research center that studies young people in politics and presents detailed data on young voters nationally and in all 50 states. CIRCLE is independent of all political parties and candidates/campaigns, and has been hailed by experts in the field of civic partnership such as Harvard University professor Robert Putnam, who said CIRCLE has brought the best and most serious research to one place. SELECT LIST OF DATA/RESEARCH AVAILABLE FROM CIRCLE: Size of the eligible youth population in 2012 nationally and state-by-state; including breakdowns by race, ethnicity, education, gender, marital status. Overview here: http://www.civicyouth.org/quick-facts/youth-demographics/ National Youth Voter Turnout 1972-2010 including breakdowns by race, ethnicity, education, gender, marital status. Overview here: http://www.civicyouth.org/new-census-data-confirm-increase-in-youth-voterturnout-in-2008-election/ National Youth Voter Registration 1972-2010 including breakdowns by race, ethnicity, education, gender, marital status. Overview here: http://www.civicyouth.org/featured-voter-registration-among-young-people-in2008/ State-by-State Youth Turnout and Registration data

State youth voter turnout in 2008: http://www.civicyouth.org/new-census-data-confirmincrease-in-youth-voter-turnout-in-2008-election/ State youth voter registration trends: http://www.civicyouth.org/featured-voter-registrationamong-young-people-in-2008/ Interactive State-by-State Voting Map: This interactive 50-state map allows users to graphically view the trends in youth and older-adult voting in presidential elections since 1972. It includes the proportion of registered voters, how many voted in 2000, 2004 and 2008, as well as the youth Presidential vote choice and party ID in those years. Located on our homepage Research on what influences youth political engagement and what activities are positively associated to youth voting Overview here: http://www.civicyouth.org/quick-facts/youth-voting/ Comprehensive analysis of youth civic and political engagement and how voting fits into that picture available by interview As a vehicle to disseminate facts and information from empirical data through the election season, CIRCLE has launched YouthTruth a campaign focused on dispelling myths about young voters and shattering stereotypes about this potentially decisive voting bloc.
### CIRCLE (www.civicyouth.org) is a nonpartisan, independent, academic research center that studies young people in politics and presents detailed data on young voters in all 50 states. CIRCLE was founded in 2001 with a generous gift from the Pew Charitable Trusts and is part of the Jonathan M. Tisch College of Citizenship and Public Service at Tufts University. CIRCLE's reputation for reliable, independent, timely research has been hailed by experts in the field of civic partnership, such as Harvard University professor Robert Putnam who said CIRCLE has brought "the best and most serious research to one place. The Jonathan M. Tisch College of Citizenship and Public Service (http://activecitizen.tufts.edu/) is a national leader whose model and research are setting the standard for higher educations role in civic engagement education. Serving every school of Tufts University, Tisch College creates an enduring culture that prepares students to be lifelong active citizens. Tufts University (http://www.tufts.edu/) located on three Massachusetts campuses in Boston, Medford/Somerville and Grafton, and in Talloires, France, is recognized as one of the premier research universities in the United States. Tufts enjoys a global reputation for academic excellence and for the preparation of students as leaders in a wide range of professions. A growing number of innovative teaching and research initiatives span all Tufts campuses, and collaboration among the faculty and students in the undergraduate, graduate, and professional programs across the university's schools is widely encouraged.