WCVI - Latino Voter Research

2008 Presidential General Election Polls - WCVI Absentee/Early Voter Survey Results

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE - November 4, 2008

Contact: Michael Bustamante, 916.425.0839

NATIONAL ABSENTEE, EARLY VOTER E-SURVEY AMONG LATINO VOTERS TREND TOWARD OBAMA

Initial Groundbreaking Survey Targets 11 States

LOS ANGELES, CA – A groundbreaking national e-survey among absentee and early Latino voters conducted by the William C. Velasquez Institute, a national Latino non-partisan public policy organization, has found that 59% of Latino voters have voted for Senator Barack Obama, compared to 37% for Senator John McCain, according to initial data released.

The survey, conducted among 312 Latino registered voters who voted early or via absentee balloting in targeted precincts in eleven states including Illinois, Colorado, Arizona, Florida, California, Texas and New Mexico also found respondents overwhelmingly voted for Democratic congressional candidates over Republican candidates by a margin of 60% (D) to 34% (R) despite identifying themselves as 51% democrat, 31% republican and 17% independent voters. At the same time, 86% of respondents said they are very dissatisfied with the way things are going in the United States with only 9% saying they are satisfied.

WCVI researchers will continue to cull through exit polling data throughout election day and will be releasing additional information from Latino voters throughout the evening. The margin of error for the survey is +/- 4.0%.

To review the initial early voter analysis and exit survey updates, review the table and methodology below.

About WCVI

The William C. Velásquez Institute (WCVI) is a tax-exempt, non-profit, non-partisan public policy analysis organization chartered in 1985. The purpose of WCVI is to: conduct research aimed at improving the level of political and economic participation in Latino and other underrepresented communities; To provide information to Latino leaders relevant to the needs of their constituents; To inform the Latino leadership and public about the impact of public policies on Latinos; To inform the Latino leadership and public about political opinions and behavior of Latinos.

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Initial National Absentee/Early Latino Voter Significant Results
	Obama-Biden	McCain-Palin
All Latino Early Voters	59.3%	37.2%
Female (53%)	65.9%	34.1%
Male (47%)	58.0%	42.0%

Cubans	27.0%	72.0%
Mexicans	66.2%	29.6%
Puerto Ricans	64.4%	28.9%

Candidates' Highest Support by Age Group
Obama-Biden	Ages 60-64	62.3%
McCain-Palin	Age 65 and Over	48.3%

	Rick Noriega (D)	John Cornyn (R)
Texas Latino Early Voters	72.7%	21.3%

Methodology

The William C. Velasquez Institute (WCVI) emailed over 160,000 mostly Latino registered voters in randomly drawn precincts from the eleven States of Arizona, California, Colorado, Florida, Illinois, Michigan, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, Pennsylvania, and Texas. WCVI specifically asked persons whom already voted by mail, absentee, or early vote to answer the email survey. WCVI received responses from 438 individuals, of which 312 self identified themselves as Latino registered voter whom already voted. Emails were sent in staggered groups between 10/30 and 11/1, with the survey being closed on 11/3. Emails for registered voters were identified using the complete voter registration databases in all the named states.

The email survey had both English and Spanish translations.

The survey carries a margin of error of 4.0%.

For more information contact Steven Ochoa at 323.222.2217