A Close Presidential Contest, With Less Than Enthusiastic Voters Results from three recent national surveys show a country that is closely divided between the presidential candidates but not very enthusiastic about voting this fall. Respondents also said that politics were behind the recent action by the Republican-led House to hold the attorney general in contempt, and that the Obama administration should answer all questions about the gun-trafficking case known as Operation Fast and Furious. A new Washington Post/ABC News poll showed Barack Obama and Mitt Romney tied, each with 47 percent of support among registered voters. Most voters also said they were committed to their choices, with just 8 percent of Romney supporters saying there was a good chance they could change their minds, and just 4 percent of Obama supporters saying so. Despite the even support for the candidates, nearly 6 in 10 Americans said that Mr. Obama would emerge the victor this fall, compared with about a third who said Mr. Romney would win. The poll showed stronger enthusiasm among Mr. Obama's supporters, with more than half saying they were very enthusiastic, compared with fewer than 4 in 10 of Mr. Romney's supporters. Most of Mr. Romney's supporters said their vote was against President Obama, rather than for Mr. Romney, a former governor of Massachusetts. Americans gave the president less than stellar ratings on the economy, immigration, and health care, with a majority saying they disapproved of his handling of each issue. Voters divided nearly evenly over would will do better on their most important issue, the economy: 48 percent said Mr. Romney would do a better job, while 45 percent favored Mr. Obama. However, Mr. Romney scored lower among voters on qualities like understanding Americans" economic problems, likability and standing up for what he believes. Gallup examined swing state voters in its recent tracking survey, looking at the responses of 1,200 respondents in 12 states that they deemed as highly contested in this year's election. And while voters in these swing states were more likely to be exposed to television ads from the campaigns, their enthusiasm for voting in the election was not very different from voters nationally. Among swing state voters, 25 percent said they were extremely enthusiastic about voting in the 2012 election, compared with 22 percent nationwide. Over all, nearly a third of voters said they were not enthusiastic about voting this year. A CNN/ORC poll conducted in the days after the Republican-led House of Representatives voted to hold Attorney General Eric H. Holder Jr. in contempt found that just over half of Americans approved of the action taken by the House of Representatives. However, about 6 in 10 Americans said the Republican investigation of Operation Fast and Furious was mostly to gain political advantage, while about a third said it was due to real ethical concerns. And nearly 7 in 10 Americans said President Obama and his aides should answer all questions related to the investigation - only 27 percent said they should continue to invoke executive privilege. The ABC News/Washington Post poll was conducted by telephone July 5 to 8 among 1,003 adults, with a margin of sampling error of plus or minus 4 percentage points for the full sample and registered voters. The CNN/ORC poll was conducted by telephone June 28 to July 1 among 1,517 adults, with a margin of sampling error of plus or minus 3 percentage points. Gallup's swing states survey was based on telephone interviews conducted June 22 to 29 on the Gallup Daily tracking survey, of 1,200 registered voters living in Colorado, Florida, Iowa, Michigan, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Mexico, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Virginia, and Wisconsin, with a margin of sampling error of plus or minus 4 percentage points.