Russell Simmons & the HSAN Encourage Youth to Vote on Super Tuesday

Russell Simmons and his Hip-Hop Summit Action Network are calling on young people to show up in force at the polls tomorrow (February 5) for the Super Tuesday primary election. Each presidential election season, a primary election is held in each state in order to determine the number of delegates that will attend the Democratic and Republican National Conventions, at which a presidential nominee is chosen by each party. Super Tuesday is so named because it is the day on which the majority of states hold their primaries. This year, 22 states, including New York, New Jersey and California will hold primaries on Super Tuesday.

With so much at stake, Russell and the HSAN believe that young voters will play a critical role in this year’s election process. "The 2008 Presidential Election is the most important of our lifetime,” Russell said in a statement. “I am so proud that young voters are already weighing in, in record numbers. But tomorrow, on Super Tuesday, it is now clear that young voters will make the critical difference. That is why today we are using every single resource at our disposal via radio, television, Global Grind and the internet to mobilize the consciousness and the actions of young people to ensure their voice is heard tomorrow.” The 2008 election is particularly noteworthy because, with Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama as clear front runners, the Democratic party is guaranteed to nominate a candidate who is not a white male for the first time in history.

In related news, Senators Clinton and Obama have responded to a list of six questions posed to them by Russell, HSAN President Dr. Benjamin Chavis and author Deepak Chopra last month. The questions asked for the candidates stances on issues such as diversity, poverty, global warming and the war in Iraq. Their answers can be read in their entirety on the HSAN website at http://hsan.org/Content/Home.aspx?PageId=276.