WASHINGTON – American Muslim groups are campaigning to register one million new voters before the US general election in a push they say is aimed at keeping Donald Trump out of the White House.
When the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) launched its 2016 Muslims Vote campaign, the goal was to lead 1 million Muslim constituents to the voting booths.
A surge in Muslim electoral participation could have consequences beyond the presidential race, helping Democrats in down-ballot races and perhaps creating a more cohesive voting bloc in future presidential contests.
CAIR said it has already detected a surge in Muslim voter registration.
A June analysis of a private national database found about 824,000 voters whose names matched a list of traditionally Muslim names the group developed.
A similar list from 2012 contained about 500,000 Muslim names, the group reported.
CAIR released the results of the nationwide survey earlier in October which showed 86 percent of the registered Muslim voters in the US say they plan to vote in the Nov. 8 presidential election.
It also found that 72 percent of American Muslim voters plan to cast their votes for Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton, compared to 4 percent for Republican rival Donald Trump.
Three percent intend to vote for Green Party candidate Jill Stein and 2 percent plan to support Libertarian Party candidate Gary Johnson.
The survey also shows that 85 percent of Muslims believe that Islamophobia and anti-Muslim sentiment have increased in the US in the past year.
Source: ICNA