Obama wins Virgin Mobile USA text poll

Barack Obama is the clear favorite to become America's next president according to a new SMS-based mobile survey conducted by Virgin Mobile USA. According to the text poll, conducted in late May, 40 percent of the 20,000 Virgin Mobile USA subscribers queried favor Obama, with fellow Democratic contender Hillary Rodham Clinton garnering 18 percent of votes and presumptive Republic nominee John McCain trailing with just five percent. Fewer than five percent remain undecided. Virgin Mobile USA notes that over half of the respondents are females under the age of 25, and all participants earned five free minutes of airtime for voicing their opinions.

Given poor voter turnout in recent U.S. elections, it's worth noting that 57 percent of the Virgin Mobile poll respondents said they would be willing to vote for their next president via mobile device, with 55 percent claiming they would be more likely to participate in the election process if a text voting option became available. About 46 percent of respondents added they would be open to receiving text messages from their candidate or party of choice.

For more on the Virgin Mobile USA text poll:
- read this release

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