WASHINGTON D.C. April 16 2002 – Smackdown Your Vote!ä and the states of Alabama Arizona California Connecticut Hawaii Kansas Kentucky Minnesota Nevada Rhode Island Vermont and Washington announced today that they will hold statewide high school Smackdown Your Vote!ä days during May National High School Voter Registration Month.

States and their designated days for statewide registration are:

• May 1 Hawaii
• May 2 Rhode Island and Nevada
• May 7 Connecticut
• May 8 Kansas
• May 9 Arizona
• May 15 Vermont
• May 17 Kentucky
• May 20 Alabama
• May 24 Minnesota
• May 29 Washington
• May 29 and 30 California

More than 6 000 high schools will potentially participate in the Smackdown Your Vote!ä registration days representing the first phase of the Smackdown Your Vote!ä 2002 campaign. The May initiative offers voter registration to students in their high schools. World Wrestling EntertainmentÒ (NYSE: WWE) – through the National Foundation for Women Legislators – is funding fifty (50) $2 000 Smackdown Your Vote!ä academic scholarships for students who help organize voter registration activities in their schools. High school seniors and juniors who are at least 17 years of age and are interested in organizing programs at their schools can register to become Smackdown Your Vote!ä Ambassadors at www.smackdownyourvote.com.

"For our democracy to remain strong we need to encourage our young people to participate in the political process through voting " said Kurt Angleä WWE Superstar and Honorary Chairman of Smackdown Your Vote!ä "Smackdown Your Vote!ä is all about bringing this message to the places where young people are so that it is relevant to them. That’s what we are trying to accomplish through this effort."

All told students in high schools representing all 50 states have expressed interest in holding Smackdown Your Vote!ä events at their schools. Many state representatives in states including North Carolina and Alaska are mounting Smackdown Your Vote!ä campaigns within their legislative districts.

WWEÒ Superstars will be promoting voter registration events. Superstars appeared last week at Smackdown Your Vote!ä rallies in high schools in Phoenix and Tucson Arizona. Angle also participated in a Honolulu news conference at which Hawaii officials declared May 1 as "Smackdown Your Vote!ä Day " and announced that Gov. Benjamin Cayetano would be the Honorary Chairman of Smackdown Your Vote!ä Hawaii.

"Our message is simple " said Angle. "Our right to vote as Americans is not only a privilege but a duty. Now is a perfect time for our young people to send the message to the world that democracy is stronger than ever in the U.S.A. and that our way of life will not be deterred by those who seek to undermine it. We appreciate those states elected officials teachers and schools who are giving their time to make this Smackdown Your Vote!ä high school initiative a success and to get young Americans involved in our democracy."

About Smackdown Your Vote! ä
Smackdown Your Vote!ä founded in July 2000 is a partnership of nonpartisan organizations created to encourage young people to register and then vote. The members of Smackdown Your Vote! are the National Foundation for Women Legislators National Association of Secretaries of State Project Vote Smart Youth Vote Coalition Close Up/ First Vote Youth-e-Vote California Vote America and WWE Inc. (NYSE: WWE). Smackdown Your Vote!ä has registered more than 200 000 voters since its inception.

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Media contact:
Gary Davis
WWE 
203-353-5066

Kate Cox
WWE 
203-352-8630

Robin Read
President & Chief Executive Officer
National Foundation for Women Legislators
202-337-3565

Kay Albowicz
Director of Communications & Marketing
National Association of Secretaries of State
202-624-3528

Rebecca Evans
Executive Director
Youth Vote Coalition
202-783-4752

Office of Alabama Secretary of State Jim Bennett
Greg Heyman
Press Secretary
334-242-4993

Office of Arizona Secretary of State Betsey Bayless
Warren Whitney
Deputy Secretary of State
602-542-4919

Office of California Secretary of State Bill Jones
Dawn Mehlhaff
Director Outreach Programs
916-657-2080

Office of Connecticut Secretary of State Susan Bysiewicz
Larry Perosino
Press Secretary
860-509-6259

Hawaii State Representative Colleen Meyer
Tim Brannan
Counsel to the Assistant Minority Leader
808-586-8540

Office of Kansas Secretary of State Ron Thornburgh
Jesse Borjon
Communications Director
785-296-4580

Office of Kentucky Secretary of State John Y. Brown III
Lisa Summers
Principal Assistant
502-564-3490

Office of Minnesota Secretary of State Mary Kiffmeyer
Kent Kaiser
Communications Director
651-297-8919

Nevada State Representative Sharron Angle
775-787-6017

Rhode Island State Representative Aisha Abdullah-Odiase
401-222-2466

Office of Vermont Secretary of State Deborah L. Markowitz
Elizabeth Reaves
Assistant to the Secretary of State
802-828-2148

Office of Washington Secretary of State Sam Reed
Laurel Mitchell
Executive Assistant
360-902-4142