Washington, DC: According
to the results of a post-debate poll, 80 percent
of likely American Muslim voters say they plan
to vote for Sen. John Kerry on November 2.
The poll, conducted
by the Washington-based Council on American-Islamic
Relations (CAIR) following the third presidential
debate, also indicates that 11 percent of Muslim
voters favor Ralph Nader and just two percent
say they will vote to re-elect President Bush.
Only four percent of the Muslim voters said they
are still undecided.
Thirty-three percent
of poll respondents said the Democratic Party
most closely reflected their views, followed by
the Green Party at 20 percent and the Republican
Party at 13 percent. One-quarter of Muslim respondents
said they were not sure which party reflected
their views.
When asked to list
the most important issue they used to determine
a presidential choice, the issues mentioned most
often by respondents were related to civil rights
and foreign policy.
Muslims from 43 states
responded to the survey, with the most responses
coming from California (17 percent), Texas (8
percent), Virginia (7 percent), Michigan (6 percent),
Illinois (6 percent), Maryland (5 percent), New
York (5 percent), Ohio (4 percent), Florida (4
percent), New Jersey (4 percent), and Pennsylvania
(3 percent).
Muslims may be swing
voters in politically-important states such as
Ohio and Florida. CAIR is opening “Get Out the
Muslim Vote” election centers this weekend in
Ohio.
Poll results are based
on responses from 857 American Muslims who say
they will vote in the November 2 election. A total
of 973 people responded to the CAIR survey. Surveys
were faxed and e-mailed to Muslim individuals
and organizations nationwide.
Meanwhile, the American
Muslim Taskforce on Civil Rights and Elections
Political Action Committee (AMT-PAC) has called
on Muslims to cast their votes for Sen. John Kerry.
SEE: “Muslim Coalition
Offers Qualified Kerry Endorsement”
http://www.cair-net.org/asp/article.asp?id=1275&page=NR
