Q. Do you support your presidential choice today mostly because you:

Among Bush voters

Like your candidate 83%

Are voting against his opponent 17%

Among Kerry voters

Like your candidate 55%

Are voting against his opponent 45%

Q. Is the country better off because of George W. Bush's policies and should it continue in the direction he set out, or does it need a new direction?

Among Bush voters

Continue policies of George W. Bush 92%

Needs a new direction 8%

Among Kerry voters

Continue policies of George W. Bush 2%

Needs a new direction 98%



How the poll was conducted: The Los Angeles Times Poll interviewed 5,154 voters who cast ballots in the general election Tuesday as they exited 136 polling places across the nation including 3,333 California voters as they exited 50 polling places across the state. Precincts were chosen based on the pattern of turnout in past primary elections. The survey was a self-administered, confidential questionnaire, in English and in Spanish. The margin of sampling error is plus or minus 3 percentage points for all voters, including California voters. For some subgroups, the error margin may be somewhat higher. Fieldwork provided by Schlesinger Associates of Edison, New Jersey and Davis Research of Calabasas, Calif.