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Georgetown University Press Release - September 22, 2004 Georgetown research shows American Washington, DC - American Muslim voters overwhelmingly support Democratic presidential candidate John Kerry over Republican George W. Bush, according to a new American Muslim Poll conducted by Zogby International for Georgetown University's Muslims in the American Public Square (Project MAPS). By a margin of 76% to 7%, Muslims back the Kerry/Edwards ticket over the incumbent Bush/Cheney ticket. This reflects a dramatic change from the 2000 election for Bush. "This contrasts sharply with the 2000 election, when Bush garnered 42% of the Muslim vote versus 31% for Democrat Al Gore," said Dr. Zahid Bukhari, director of Project MAPS. Zogby International and Project MAPS conducted the first American Muslim Poll in November 2001 with a margin of error of +/-2.4%. When the question is expanded to include minor party candidates, Kerry's lead is cut to 68% versus Bush's 7%, with independent candidate Ralph Nader picking up 11%, similar to the 12% he garnered from Muslim voters in 2000. So pronounced is the movement away from Bush that he fails to capture even those Muslim voters calling themselves politically conservative, where Kerry leads him by a two-to-one margin. The new poll also shows a migration away from the Republican Party by Muslim voters. In 2001, 23% of Muslims identified themselves as Republicans while 40% called themselves Democrats and 28% independents. Now, only 12% call themselves Republicans while 50% of Muslims are Democrats and 31% are independents. The poll also examined the impact of Muslim organizations on American Muslim voters, and found Muslims give a great deal of consideration to these groups. The poll found 53% of American Muslim voters say they believe Muslims should vote as a bloc for a presidential candidate. Four in five (81%) respondents to the poll also indicated they supported the agenda of the American Muslim Taskforce on Civil Rights and Elections (AMT) during the presidential election. AMT is a U.S.-wide coalition of the ten largest Muslim organizations. The AMT has identified "a Civil Rights Plus Agenda" pertaining to the Presidential Election. This agenda consists of civil and human rights for all, domestic issues of public good and general welfare, global peace with justice, prevention of war, and U.S. relations with the Muslim world. Over two in three (69%) said an AMT endorsement would be important in making their decision for whom to cast their ballot. The strongest support for Muslim political unity and the AMT came from African-American, African and Arab Muslims. Survey Details: Zogby International conducted a telephone survey of 1,700 Muslims chosen randomly nationwide, and an over sample of 146 face-to-face interviews of African-American Muslims conducted in select Mosques. All calls were made from Zogby International headquarters in Utica, N.Y., from August 5 through September 15, 2004. The margin of error is +/- 2.3 percentage points. Slight weights were added to country of origin to more accurately reflect the Muslim population. Margins of error are higher in sub-groups. Numbers have been rounded to the nearest percent and may not total 100. |