Preliminary results of an exit poll by a prominent national Islamic civil rights and advocacy group indicate that more than 90 percent of Muslim voters are casting their ballots for John Kerry in today's election.

In that early survey of 537 Muslim voters, conducted by the Washington-based Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), 93 percent of respondents said they voted for Kerry, 5 percent favored Ralph Nader and less than 1 percent said they supported President Bush.

The exit poll exceeds the results of a post-debate CAIR survey indicating that 80 percent of likely American Muslim voters planned to vote for Kerry. Today's poll results are also in line with the American Muslim Taskforce on Civil Rights and Elections - Political Action Committee (AMT-PAC) endorsement of John Kerry. SEE: http://www.americanmuslimvoter.net/

In the key battleground state of Florida, a CAIR sampling of 335 Muslims who cast their votes today or in early polling shows that 95 percent voted for Kerry and just 3 percent voted for President Bush. Ralph Nader received under 2 percent of Muslim votes.

In Ohio, a similar sampling of 222 Muslim voters showed 86 percent voting for Kerry, 4 percent for Bush and 10 percent for "other" or a third party.

"We are seeing an unprecedented level of voter mobilization by the American Muslim community in this election," said CAIR Executive Director Nihad Awad. "I believe Muslim voters have come of age and will be a factor in all future elections."

Muslims from almost every state responded to the exit poll, with the most responses coming from California, Virginia, Texas, Maryland, Illinois, New York, Florida, and Ohio.

Surveys were faxed and e-mailed to Muslim individuals and organizations nationwide this afternoon.

In the weeks leading up to the election, CAIR launched a nationwide "Get Out the Muslim Vote" campaign that included phone banks in a number of election centers, distribution of Muslim voter guides and transportation services for Muslim voters.

CAIR, America's largest Islamic civil liberties group, is headquartered in Washington, D.C., and has 29 regional offices and chapters nationwide and in Canada.