NEW YORK, 29 September 2004 — American Muslim voters and Jewish American voters have traditionally voted on the same Democratic ticket. But in this viciously bitter campaign, some party enthusiasts will go to no ends to garner votes for their candidates...even if it means going far beyond US shores.
Here in the US, American Muslim voters are showing overwhelming support for Democratic presidential candidate John Kerry over Republican George W. Bush.
While in Israel, hundreds of conservative, ultra-Orthodox Jewish Americans, who have lived there without ever voting for in a US election, are now planning to participate in November’s presidential election. Republicans are delighted, because Orthodox Jews traditionally vote for Republicans because of the party’s socially conservative position.
More than 7 million Americans live overseas. More than one-quarter million Americans live in Israel, making it the third-largest community of US expatriates outside of North America. A large percentage of these Americans in Israel are ultra-Orthodox.
The drive for this voter drive got a big push when a group of influential American rabbis signed a public letter calling on Americans in Israel to file absentee ballots.
According to the Washington Times, the letter — which appeared in an ultra-Orthodox Jewish newspaper in Israel — rebuked those who do not exercise their voting rights, saying: “Whoever does not do so bears testimony upon himself that the interests of fellow Jews do not concern him.”
For the first time ever, there are now signs in some Israeli synagogue lobbies, asking: “Are You an American?” with voter registration booths nearby.
The new campaign to woo US votes in Israel has caused a stir in the Orthodox Jewish community in New York where a large percentage of the ultra-Orthodox votes cast there are expected to go to Kerry, as New York is considered a Democratic stronghold.
With that in mind, a new American Muslim Poll conducted by Zogby International for Georgetown University’s Muslims in the American Public Square (Project MAPS), found that Muslims support the Kerry/Edwards ticket over the incumbent Bush/Cheney ticket by a margin of 76 percent to 7 percent.
The overwhelming support for Kerry shows a dramatic change from the 2000 presidential election when the majority of Arab-Americans voted for Bush. But four years later, Bush has failed to capture even those Muslim voters who call themselves politically conservative, said the Zogby pollsters.
The new poll also shows a migration away from the Republican Party by Muslim voters. In 2001, 23 percent of Muslims identified themselves as Republicans while 40 percent called themselves Democrats and 28 percent independents. Now, only 12 percent call themselves Republicans while 50 percent of Muslims are Democrats.
The poll also found that American Muslims voters are becoming more vocal and active. Fifty-three percent of American Muslim voters believe Muslims should vote as a bloc for a presidential candidate.
