Race, religion and taxes will all help determine who is victorious in this year's presidential elections, data from new polls released this week said.
Of the three determinants, race comes out ahead, with views on equality, discrimination and inclusion most frequently in-line with party preference.
In an ABC/Washington Post poll released Monday, respondents who believe African Americans in their community do not experience discrimination are far more likely to favor Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney.
Among non-black registered voters who see no such discrimination, Romney leads President Barack Obama by 59 percent to 34 percent. Among non-blacks who do see discrimination Obama leads 56 percent to 37 percent.
Likewise, although views on interracial marriage don't independently predict voter preference, registered voters who are uncomfortable with the idea are more likely to support Romney by a margin of 69 to 48 percent.
Overall, 81 percent of those polled said they would be comfortable with a family member marrying an African American.
One's view on tax policy also helps determine voting preference, a Pew Research Center poll released Tuesday showed.
A majority of Democrats - most of whom will vote for the president - said raising taxes on incomes over $250,000 would help the economy and would make the tax system more fair.
By contrast, only 27 percent of Republicans polled said such an increase in taxes would help the economy, with an even lower number, 25 percent, saying it would make the system more fair.
Independents fall somewhere in the middle at 44 percent and 41 percent respectively. However, only 18 percent of independents think such an increase would hurt the economy, which could benefit the president come November.
Religion, by contrast, has the least bearing on one's voter preference, the ABC/Washington Post poll said. Even among those who have negative views of the Church of Latter Day Saints, 42 percent still have favorable views of Romney himself.
The ABC/Washington Post poll reflected interviews with 1,003 adults between July 5-8, 2012 and has margin of error of plus or minus 4 percentage points.
Results of the Pew Research Center poll reflected interviews with 1,015 adults between July 12-15, 2012 and have margin of error of plus or minus 3.6 percentage points.
by RTT Staff Writer
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