'Heroes' star is young voter spokeswoman

LOS ANGELES, Aug. 22 (UPI) -- Hollywood actress Hayden Panettiere celebrated her 18th birthday by registering to vote through the Declare Yourself campaign's on-line registration process.

The "Heroes" cheerleader, who turned 18 on Tuesday, is an official spokesperson for the national non-partisan, non-profit youth voter initiative aimed at encouraging 18-year-olds in the United States to register and vote in the 2008 primaries and general election.

"'Declare Yourself' makes the process so easy to do," Panettiere said in a statement. "I can't think of a better way to make a difference in today's society than by voting to make sure that my voice is heard."

In order to get as many 18-year-olds as possible to the 2008 polls, Declare Yourself has established a multi-tiered platform through partnerships with Yahoo!, MySpace, YouTube, Google, Evite, Good Search, Clear Channel, Comedy Central and American Eagle Outfitters.

More than 1.2 million young voters registered through the group's online voter registration system in the 2004 and 2006 national elections.