Palin impacts voters' decision, poll says

NEW YORK, Oct. 31 (UPI) -- U.S. voters increasingly say Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin isn't qualified to be to be vice president and is dragging the Republican ticket down, a poll indicates.

Fifth-nine percent of voters surveyed for the latest New York Times-CBS News poll indicated they thought Palin wasn't up for the job, an increase of 9 percentage points since the beginning of October, results released Friday indicated.

About a third of voters said the choice of running mate would be a major factor in their choice for president, pollsters said. Of those who said they the vice presidential slot is important, most favor Illinois Sen. Barack Obama, the Democratic nominee.

Palin was viewed as unprepared for the job by about six in 10 men and women alike, results indicated. Eight in 10 Democrats viewed Sen. John McCain's running mate as unprepared; more than 6 in 10 independents and 3 in 10 Republicans also held that view.

Poll results indicate Obama maintains his lead, with 51 percent of likely voters supporting him and 40 percent supporting McCain.

The nationwide telephone poll was conducted Saturday-Wednesday with 1,439 adults nationwide, including 1,308 registered voters. The margin of error is 3 percentage points.