Muslim voters in the US to vote for Jill Stein for president: Could be decisive in the elections

A poll conducted in the US has found that Muslim voters in the country are leaning toward voting for Green Party-backed Dr. Jill Stein in the 'swing states' that could determine the fate of the presidential election to be held on November 5.

The poll, conducted by the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) between August 25-27, revealed the reaction of Muslim voters to the Gaza policies of the Democratic and Republican candidates.

According to the poll, which was held with the participation of 1,115 registered American Muslim voters across the US, Green Party presidential candidate Stein moved ahead of her Democratic and Republican rivals in 3 of the 6 prominent swing states in the country.

Stein emerged first among her rivals in securing the votes of Muslim voters with 35 percent in Arizona, 40 percent in Michigan, and 44 percent in Wisconsin, while Democratic candidate Kamala Harris finished ahead in Georgia with 43 percent and in Pennsylvania with 37 percent.

Republican candidate Donald Trump, on the other hand, was the candidate who received the most votes among Muslim voters only in Nevada, with 27 percent.

'WE ARE SCARING THE ESTABLISHMENT'

Stein made a statement regarding the poll and called on her voters to fight against the 'establishment'.

Green Party presidential candidate Stein said in a post on her social media account, 'Have you seen the latest CAIR poll? We are leading by at least 5 points among Muslim American voters in Arizona, Michigan, and Wisconsin. We are scaring the establishment. Keep doing everything you can to keep the movement going.'

In swing states where a very small margin of votes can determine the fate of the elections, this preference of Muslim voters was evaluated as a message to the Democratic and Republican candidates who have not cut off their support for Israel against the Gaza genocide.

CAIR Government Affairs Director Robert S. McCaw warned, 'Candidates running for president cannot ignore the issues that matter most to Muslim Americans. Ignoring this community or taking their votes for granted could be a costly mistake, especially in swing states where elections are often won by narrow margins.'

HARRIS IS THE CANDIDATE MOST SUPPORTED BY MUSLIMS

On the other hand, in the total of the poll, Democratic Party candidate Harris stood out as the candidate who could receive the most votes among Muslim voters with 29.4 percent. Harris was followed by Stein with 29.1 percent.

Trump became the third choice of Muslim voters in the poll with 11.2 percent. Trump was followed by Dr. Cornel West from the People's Party with 4.2 percent.

When viewed by gender, 29 percent of male Muslim voters stated that they would vote for Harris, while 34 percent of female Muslim voters stated that they would vote for Stein.

On an ethnic basis, Harris received 55.3 percent support among Black Muslim voters. Stein, on the other hand, was preferred by white, Arab, and Turkish-origin Muslim voters with 32.7 percent.

16.5 percent of the Muslim voters participating in the poll stated that they were undecided at this stage and did not point to any candidate.

There are around 2.5 million Muslim voters in the US. Despite widespread dissatisfaction, it is noted that more than 90 percent of Muslim voters plan to participate in the elections in November.

While this poll only reflects the preference of Muslim voters, there are also hundreds of thousands of non-Muslim voters in these states who protest the government's Gaza policy and have cast 'uncommitted' votes in the primaries.

WHY ARE SWING STATES IMPORTANT?

The fate of the elections, in which the 60th president of the US will be elected, will be determined by the votes of undecided voters in Arizona, Nevada, Wisconsin, Michigan, Pennsylvania, North Carolina, and Georgia, which are described as 'swing states'.

For the election to be held on November 5, eyes will be on these critical states where even a very small margin of votes can change the fate of the elections in the fierce competition between Harris and Trump.

The election system called the Electoral College plays a major role in these states determining the fate of the elections.

According to this system, US voters do not choose the presidential candidate directly, but through the delegates they vote for. This means that the candidate who wins more than half of the total 538 delegates across the country, that is, 270 delegates, wins the presidential election.

Therefore, it is not the candidate who receives the most votes in the presidential race, but the candidate who reaches the most delegates who finishes the race ahead.

According to the same system, a presidential candidate who gets even 1 vote more than their rival in a state wins all the delegates in that state. (winner-take-all)

IN WHICH STATES ARE HARRIS AND TRUMP NECK AND NECK?

On the day US President Joe Biden announced on July 21 that he was withdrawing from the race and nominated Harris in his place, Trump appeared ahead of Biden in both national polls and critical states.

On that date, while Biden had 42.3 percent support in polls in critical states, his rival Trump had reached a vote rate of 46.7 percent.

Harris, who closed the gap with Trump quickly after becoming the candidate following Biden's withdrawal from the race, has almost the same vote rate as Trump with 47.3 percent in the latest polls conducted in critical states.

According to data from the news platform Real Clear Politics (RCP), which publishes election polls in the US, Trump appears ahead of Harris by less than 1 percentage point in 5 of the 7 critical states.

Nationwide, according to the average of 14 polls conducted between August 22-27, Harris appears to have 48.4 percent and Trump 46.9 percent of the vote.

When looking at the current poll averages in swing states, it is seen that Trump has 47.4 percent and Harris has 47.3 percent support.

The fact that the gap between Trump and Harris in the swing states where undecided voters are located has almost dropped to zero in the polls means that the two candidates have entered a knife-edge race marathon.