STAMFORD , Conn. , December 28, 2007 – World Wrestling Entertainment®’s Smackdown Your Vote! is teaming up with Rock the Vote to support its “Rock the Caucus” initiative in Iowa . WWE® is using the star power of its Superstars to urge Iowa high school students of voting age to get active and make their voices heard by attending either the Democratic or Republican Caucus on Thursday, January 3, 2008.
Smackdown Your Vote! tapped ECW Champion CM Punk™, WWE Superstar Mr. Kennedy™, and WWE Diva Maria™ to appear in a special promotional poster that was distributed to high schools. It can be downloaded at www.rockthecaucus.com and at www.smackdownyourvote.com. A Public Service Announcement was created featuring Mr. Kennedy and it is airing on CW cable network affiliates in Iowa . The PSA can also be seen on www.smackdownyourvote.com. WWE is also utilizing grassroots and social networking sites to promote these items.
“The Iowa youth vote is a much-coveted voting bloc in 2008, and being courted by campaigns in a way we haven’t seen in years,” said Heather Smith, Executive Director, Rock the Vote. “The high school bloc is especially critical in Iowa where any Iowan who will be 18 by November 4, 2008 is eligible to caucus in January. This mean nearly every 17- and 18-year-old in the state is eligible to participate in his or her first caucus on January 3rd.”
“As the first major electoral event in the presidential race, the Iowa caucuses are generating considerable excitement. We want to get high school students in Iowa equally excited to participate in the Caucuses,” said Gary Davis, Executive Director, WWE’s Smackdown Your Vote!. “WWE and Rock the Vote are leveraging the power of both organizations in this election to promote involvement and awareness in the political process.”
Rock the Vote and Smackdown Your Vote! joined forces earlier this year on a nationwide poll of young voters that was conducted by Sacred Heart University . The poll found young adults increasingly engaged in politics and on track for a strong turnout in 2008, a finding bolstered by 18-29 year olds’ record turnout to the polls in 2004 and 2006. Rock the Caucus is intended to continue this momentum by mobilizing young voters in the first-in-the-nation primary, cueing up a year of energy and action among young voters and for Rock the Vote and Smackdown Your Vote!.
About Rock the Vote: Rock the Vote’s mission is to build the political clout and engagement of young people in order to achieve progressive change in our country. Rock the Vote uses music, popular culture and new technologies to engage and incite young people to register and vote in every election. And we give young people the tools to identify, learn about, and take action on the issues that affect their lives, and leverage their power in the political process.
Rock the Vote is creative, effective, and controlled by nobody’s agenda but our own – we tell it like it is and pride ourselves on being a trusted source for information on politics. We empower the 45 million young people in America who want to step up, claim their voice in the political process, and change the way politics is done. www.RockTheVote.com
About Rock the Caucus: Rock the Caucus is a joint, nonpartisan program between Rock the Vote, Iowa ’s PIRG’s New Voters Project, and Secretary of State Michael A. Mauro. The goal of Rock the Caucus is to mobilize young adults to the January 3rd Iowa caucuses and ensure that, at the first-in-the-nation caucus, young adults’ voices are heard loudly and clearly. Rock the Vote’s Rock the Caucus efforts are targeted at turning 17- and 18-year-old high school seniors out to their first caucuses by securing pledges to caucus at high school assemblies, class presentations, via online social networking sites, at mock caucuses, and during after-school parties on January 3rd. For more information, see www.RocktheCaucus.com or visit our Rock the Caucus Facebook page here: http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=5779469266
About Smackdown Your Vote!: founded in July 2000, Smackdown Your Vote! is a non-partisan campaign to encourage young people to become active participants in their democracy and vote. Working with non-partisan partners and the major political parties, WWE and its Superstars have the sole focus of encouraging more young people to register and vote, and to have more candidates for political office address the credible issues of Americans under 30.
Additional information on World Wrestling Entertainment, Inc. (NYSE: WWE) can be found at wwe.com and corporate.wwe.com. For information on our global activities, go to http://www.wwe.com/worldwide/
Labels: rock the vote, smackdown
