Most Americans don't see gay marriage, abortion as something their votes depend upon

Washington, Mar.1 (ANI): Social issues such as gay marriage and abortion are at the bottom of the list of concerns that American voters consider very important to their vote in the 2012 presidential election, according to a new poll.

According to a report in The Politico, only 38 percent of registered voters said social issues like gay marriage and abortion are extremely or very important to them in the context of the presidential campaign, a USA Today/Gallup survey has found.

Republicans were more likely to consider social issues an important 2012 topic than Democrats or independents, with 46 percent of GOPers indicating that matters like gay marriage and abortion are important, compared to 36 percent of Democrats and 35 percent of independents who said the same.

More than 9 in 10 voters (92 percent) ranked the progress of the American economy was an important campaign issue.

An overwhelming majority, 82 percent, also said they considered unemployment an important issue, while 79 percent said the same about the federal budget deficit.

More than 7 in 10 voters said terrorism and national security, taxes and President Barack Obama's health care reform law were important to their vote in 2012.

The gap between the rich and the poor was an important issue for 56 percent of voters, while immigration was considered important by half of the participants.

The USA Today/Gallup poll was conducted Feb. 16-19 among 898 registered voters, and has a margin of error of plus or minus 4 percentage points. (ANI)