ECONOMY
More than 6 of 10 voters identified the economy as the top issue. The federal budget deficit and health care were about tied for a distant second. About 7 out of 10 voters said their family's situation is about the same or worse than it was four years ago. About 3 out of 10 said it is better.
RELIGION
About half of the voters identified themselves as born-again or evangelical Christians and more than half said they attend religious services at least once a week. About 1 of 10 said they never attend religious services.
DECISION TIME
Alabama voters indicated they had made up their minds long before the candidates bombarded them with TV ads. About 8 of 10 said they did so before September.
GOVERNMENT's ROLE
About 6 of 10 voters said government is doing too many things better left to businesses and individuals, while about 4 of 10 said government should do more to solve problems.
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The preliminary exit poll of 680 voters was conducted for AP and the television networks by Edison Research in a random sample of 15 precincts statewide. Results were subject to sampling error of plus or minus 5 percentage points; it is higher for subgroups.
Online: http://surveys.ap.org/exitpolls
