Cable Industry Launches "Countdown to Youth Vote"

September 19, 2008

By Mike Peters

With the presidential election this November, in addition to races for 35 senate seats and more than 400 congressional seats, and other state and local campaigns, the cable industry has announced the launch of "Countdown to Youth Vote," a campaign which focuses on increasing the turnout of diverse voters between the ages of 18 and 29.

"Countdown to Youth Vote" Addresses Impact of Voters Ages 18 to 29

The minority youth vote has received particular attention this election year because of the impact it could have - more than 6.2 million African-Americans ages 18 to 29 will be eligible to vote, as will over 5.6 million Latinos in the same age range, according to Rock The Vote, one of Comcast's partners in the "Countdown to Youth Vote" campaign.

"We are delighted to launch this campaign to encourage young people in diverse communities to participate in the democratic process and make their voice heard in this election," said Comcast executive vice president David L. Cohen. "This campaign is an extension of the longstanding commitment by Comcast and the cable industry to empower youth to take an active part in their communities."

Cable Industry Provides Voter Education and Information Resources

"Our Time to Vote," the cable industry campaign that preceded "Countdown to Youth Vote," provides online resources for youth to access voter information from several partner organizations: Rock the Vote, Asian and Pacific Islander American Vote (APIAVote), Hispanic Federation, the League of United Latin American Citizens (LULAC), the NAACP National Voter Fund, and the National Association of Latino Elected Officials Education Fund (NALEO), as well as two nationally available voter education resources: the www.ourtimetovote.com webpage, and a voter information resources hotline, 1-866-544-VOTE.

The "Countdown to Youth Vote" campaign will include four multicultural public service announcements which will launch nationwide September 10 and air through November 3 on Comcast, Cox, Time Warner, and Charter Communications cable systems. Subscribers to these and other cable providers can access a wide array of election information and coverage through the Elections '08 platform within video-on-demand service, including speeches, voter education, and historical addresses.