Muslim US voters cast ballots in ‘record numbers’, with exit poll showing nearly 70% voting for Biden

Muslim voters in the US cast their ballots in “record numbers” in Tuesday’s election, with nearly 70 per cent voting for Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden, an exit poll conducted by The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), the nation’s largest Muslim civil rights and advocacy organisation, has found.

Releasing the results of its 2020 Muslim Voters Presidential Election Exit Poll on Tuesday evening, CAIR said that of 844 registered Muslim voter households polled, 84 per cent said they voted in the 2020 election. 

Five per cent of respondents said they did not vote, while 11 percent refused to answer the question.

Of those who cast their ballots, 69 percent said they voted for Mr Biden, while 17 percent said they voted for President Donald Trump. 

The latter result indicates a 4 per cent rise in support for Trump compared to the 2016 election, when the US leader received 13 per cent of the Muslim vote, according to CAIR. 

Three per cent of respondents said they voted for a different candidate than Mr Trump or Mr Biden, while 11 per cent again refused to answer the question.

In a press release, CAIR said that its exit poll was conducted using an independent automated call survey provider. 

In a statement thanking Muslim voters for casting their ballots, CAIR National Executive Director Nihad Awad said more than one million American Muslim voters had voted in the election cycle. 

“Muslims vote and there is no denying the role our community plays in local, state and national politics,” CAIR Director of Government Affairs Robert S. McCaw said in a separate statement. ,

“Now is the time to hold the politicians we elected to office accountable to ensure that the civil and religious rights of all American are being upheld and protected," he added.

In an earlier press release issued on Tuesday, CAIR’s Maryland office condemned the alleged harassment of a visibly Muslim volunteer at a polling location in Baltimore County. 

According to CAIR Maryland, the volunteer, a mom of four who wears a hijab, was standing outside the polling station when a voter started shouting comments at her, including “Trump is going to win!” and “you know your wasting your breath”. 

The volunteer ignored the voter’s comments and offered them a bottle of water, which they accepted, CAIR said. 

“The volunteer could have chosen to stay home, but she understands what’s at stake in our country and instead chose to be civically engaged,” said CAIR’s Maryland director Zainab Chaudry in a statement. 

“When she was confronted with antagonism, she refused to be intimidated. Instead, she responded with an act of compassion that truly embodies the Islamic faith. Her courage is an example for others to remain steadfast and engaged, and to not be deterred in these tense political times," Chaudry said. 

In her own statement to CAIR, the volunteer said: “Not everyone is going to like us. We can’t hide our faces. We are part of America. We live here, our children live here. That’s why this is so important to stand up. To speak out and vote.”