Gay voters picked Sen. Barack Obama nearly three to one over Sen. John McCain on Tuesday, though they delivered as a block a smaller percentage of their votes to the Democrat candidate this year than in 2004.

But gay voters, according to a poll by Edison Media Research, still delivered 70 percent of their votes to Obama, compared to 27 percent for McCain. In 2004, some 77 percent of gay votes went to the Democrat, Sen. John Kerry, compared to 23 percent for President George W. Bush. Some four percent of voters on Tuesday self-identified as gay, lesbian or bisexual, the same percentage as in 2004.

What issue motivated gay voters at the polls centered on the economy, with nearly 60 percent of respondents to a Project Q Atlanta poll saying the economy mattered the most to them. That far surpassed voters who said “gay, lesbian and transgender equality” was their top concern, which received 25 percent of the vote. Nearly 13 percent picked energy and the environment and three percent selected homeland security and foreign policy.

A new poll is now available on the home page of Project Q Atlanta: What gay issue should be the first for President-elect Obama?

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