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Voters Speak With Their Ballots

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The Associated Press

Published: November 5, 2008

Preliminary results from a national Associated Press exit poll of voters in Tuesday's elections:

Economy Dominates

Six in 10 voters picked the economy as the most important issue facing the nation, overwhelming other problems named. Barack Obama was doing strongly with this group - six in 10 of those naming the economy were backing the Democrat. All the other issues listed in the survey - Iraq, energy, terrorism and health care - were picked by one in 10 or less.

New Voters For Obama

About one in 10 voters said this was the first year they have voted - roughly the same proportion of new voters as in 2004. About seven in 10 of them were voting for Obama. Overall, six in 10 new voters were under age 30, one in five were black and an additional one in five were Hispanic - all far greater than their share of the population overall. All of those groups were voting overwhelmingly for Obama.

The Palin Factor

Sarah Palin, the Republican vice presidential candidate, was a big factor in the voting - in both directions.

A third of Republicans and about the same share of conservatives said McCain's choice of the Alaska governor as his running mate was an important factor in deciding who they would support. But her choice had the opposite effect on other voters: About a quarter of independents said Palin's selection had an important effect on their decision, and nearly six in 10 of them were supporting Obama. Nearly half of moderates also said her choice was a factor - and six in 10 of them were Obama voters.

The Role Of Race

Nearly one in 10 whites said race was an important factor in selecting a candidate, though only a tiny fraction said it was the most important factor. In both groups, about six in 10 were voting for McCain.

Virtually all blacks were supporting Obama. About two-thirds of Hispanics were also behind Obama.

McCain's Age

One in seven said the fact that McCain would enter the White House at age 72 was an important factor in their vote, though only a handful called it the most important factor.

Hillary's Hordes

Nearly nine in 10 voters who said they had voted in the primaries for the New York senator and former first lady said they were voting for Obama.

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