Exit polls find voters split on Obama health law

Voters remain divided on President Obama's signature healthcare law, according to preliminary exit polls released Tuesday night.

The law is a major point of division between Obama and Mitt Romney, with Romney promising immediate repeal if he is elected president. An October tracking poll from the Kaiser Family Foundation found the Affordable Care Act third in GOP voters' minds behind the economy and the deficit. Democrats, meanwhile, named the law as their top priority alongside the economy, Medicare and Medicaid. 

Exit polls found an almost even split between supporters and opponents of the health law Tuesday. The New York Times reported that one-quarter of voters surveyed want the Affordable Care Act repealed while one-quarter would repeal some parts but not others. The other half of voters, meanwhile, would leave the law as is or expand it. 

The Christian Science Monitor and The Associated Press reported similar views among voters Tuesday. The Monitor reported a slight edge for voters who want to keep or expand the law, 47 percent to 45, while the AP found more voters favoring repeal, 50 percent to 43.

Meanwhile, healthcare was first in the minds of 17 percent of voters, according to a poll conducted for a consortium of news outlets. Sixty percent said the economy was their No. 1 issue. 

The health law passed in 2010 and was almost entirely upheld by the Supreme Court in June.

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