Some people vote based on one issue, while others vote based on the full picture of a candidate. But regardless of the candidates’ views and plans, professors, research and surveys agree ethnicity influences minority voters. Asian EthnicityVoters who identify as Asian are more likely to support the Democratic party. Voters of Asian ethnicity are generally swing voters, said Xi Chen, political science assistant professor. Twenty-four percent of Asian-American voters support Sen. John McCain and 41 percent support Sen. Barack Obama, according to a Agence France-Presse survey. Asian-American voters concentrate on economic policies, public health, immigration and education, Chen said. Thirty-four percent of Asian-Americans remain undecided, the AFP survey said. While most Asian-Americans support the Democratic Party, Vietnamese-Americans traditionally tend to support the Republican Party, Chen said. This support is because most Vietnamese immigrants left during the Vietnam War and identify with the political party which most supports anti-communist ideals. Ngoc Huyhh, a biological science freshman of Asian ethnicity, said she doesn’t think her ethnicity influences her voting. Instead she said she focuses on each candidates’ ideas.  Black EthnicityObama finds strong support with black voters. Blacks support Obama by 92 percent, according to Oct. 27 Gallup polls. Blacks voted for the Democratic Party in 2000 by 95 percent and 93 percent in 2004 election. “Not only do I vote for what would help me, but also I know that I am more privileged than others in my ethnicity, and I vote for what I think would help all minorities,” said Amanda Myles, a black history freshman. Middle-Eastern EthnicityMiddle-Eastern ethnicity sways voters in different directions depending on specific ethnic identification. Ethnicity voting influence differs among Christian Arab-Americans, Muslims Arab-Americans, Iranian-Americans and Jewish Americans. Christian Arab-Americans are most adapted to American culture, said Mark Gasiorowski, political science professor. Most Christian Arab-Americans are of Lebanese origin and are closest to mainstream American voters following generations of living in the U.S. and assimilation into American culture, he said. Many Muslim Arab-Americans are mostly from Israel, Gasiorowski said. Gasiorowski guessed Muslim Arab-Americans generally support Obama because of a belief McCain will continue President Bush’s perceived anti-Muslim agenda. Many Arab Muslims opposed the Iraq invasion, Gasiorowski said.Iranian-American voters are not segregated by religion, Gasiorowski said, and tend to support Obama because of his openness to relations with Iran, Gasiorowski said. Iranian Americans no longer support the Republican Party after the Bush administration and don’t believe McCain will be open to negotiations with Iran, Gasiorowski said. Jewish Americans tend to support the Democratic Party more than the Republican Party because they are traditionally liberal, Gasiorowski said. American relations with the Middle East, mostly relations with Israel, are important to Jewish Americans, Gasiorowski said. Hawkish Jewish Americans, a small group who support McCain, want hardline relations to be strict with the Arab world, Gasiorowski said. Dovish Jewish Americans, a large majority of Jewish Americans, support peace negotiations and feel that McCain will not help, Gasiorowski said.—-Contact Mary Gonzalez at [email protected]