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18-29 Year-Old Voters Propel Obama to Victory

Massive Youth Vote Increases Seen As New Political Base in IN, FL, OH, PA, and CO

NEW YORK, Nov. 5 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Overwhelming youth support for President-elect Barack Obama in battleground states kept this election out of reach for Sen. McCain, according to Eric Greenberg, author of "Generation We: How Millennial Youth Are Taking Over America and Changing Our World Forever."

"This race would have been extremely close had the youth vote not been so active. Nationally there was an a large increase in the youth vote turnout, but it was their massive turnout in college towns in the battleground states that kept this election out of reach for McCain," Greenberg said.

Exit polls show that the youth vote supported Obama/Biden over McCain/Palin 66% to 32%, which is the highest share of the youth vote obtained by any candidate since exit polls began reporting results by age categories in 1976. Specifically, college towns in the battleground states ofIndiana,Ohio,Pennsylvania,Colorado, andFlorida saw increases of up to 92% in youth voter turnout in comparison to 2004. More broadly, 18-29 year-olds represented 18% of the electorate while those identified as 65 and older made up only 16%.

According to CIRCLE, an estimated 21.6 million-23.9 million young Americans voted in Tuesday's presidential election, an increase of at least 2.2 million compared with 2004, according to national exit polls, demographic data, and projections of total numbers of votes cast.

Preliminary exit polls show historical increases in the youth vote:

    --  Indiana University Bloomington, Precinct 01 - at least a 287% increase
        over 2004.
    --  University of South Florida, Precinct 353 - 66% increase over 2004.
    --  The Ohio State University, Precinct 39B - at least a 92% increase over
        2004.
    --  Colorado University Boulder, Precinct 102 - at least a 45% increase over
        2004

"This is more than a voting bloc. It's a movement," Greenberg said. "We are witnessing a changing of the guard, a new political epoch, a youth movement, and their call to restore the American dream. One only has to look at how the youth voted overwhelmingly for Obama this election to understand that a generational shift is occurring. This is the start of something much larger."

Eric will be organizing a lunch panel of top youth leaders and thinkers on Monday, November 17th at the National Press Club inWashington D.C. to look more closely at how the youth vote effected this election and the importance of the Millennial Generation during the next Administration and future elections.

About the Author and Gerstein-Agne Study on the Millennial Generation Voter

Eric is more than an author when it comes to the Millennial Generation. He has also created www.Gen-We.org to organize and mobilize the Millennial Generation through a petition for President-elect Obama to create Project FREE, an Apollo Project to innovate the next generation of non-carbon based energy, a call-to-action video, and extensive polling and focus groups on this voting bloc.

The video was created by Sundance Award winning filmmaker Stephen Marshall and has received close to 4 million views online since being released on October 25th. The video can be viewed here on YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vknHKTy1MLY.

The study shows that the demographics of America are undoubtedly shifting center-left. And as the Boomers are retiring, a new generation of activists and thinkers are soon becoming the next big demographic movement in America: Generation We.

According to his Gerstein-Agne study, starting with citizen-eligible voters born between 1978 and 1996, the size of Gen We is 95 million and growing, compared to the current 78 million Boomers. Only half are adults though, and in less than 10 years, Millennials will make up about 30 percent of actual voters, with the number of Gen We voters hitting 100 million by 2016 when the youngest reaches full voting age.

Politically, Gen We continues to vote more Democratic each year. Starting in 2002, Millennials leaned slightly Democratic, voting 49-47. In every election since, the Millennial demographic has favored Democratic candidates, with 18-29 year olds in the 2006 mid-term favoring Democrats 60-38. But it is important to note that the Millennials are centrist, most hovering center-left.

According to the Millennials, the rise of the Internet and technology is an issue that shaped their attitudes and beliefs. Tending to be more independent, Millennials have distaste for partisan politics and see issues and solutions less based on politics and more based on what is best for the country.

"In 2008, a perfect storm was created for Sen. Barack Obama to excite and motivate Gen We. Their appetite for change and a new start coupled with Sen. Obama's optimistic message and his campaign's use of technology and social networking led to the 34% age preference for Obama over McCain. This margin, when combined with youth vote preferences for Democratic candidates in 2006 and 2004 may indicate a political base for the Democratic Party similar to the one that elected Roosevelt in 1932 and propelled him into four terms of Presidency," Greenberg said.

SOURCE Eric Greenberg