U.S. Presidential race still tied with six days to go

The presidential race remained effectively tied on Thursday, with President Barack Obama backed by 47 percent of likely voters and challenger Mitt Romney supported by 46 percent in a Reuters/Ipsos daily tracking poll.

The race has been stable in the last days before Election Day on Tuesday. Obama has remained at 47 percent and the Republican Romney at 46 percent support in the online poll for three days running. It is a statistically insignificant difference between them despite a barrage of late campaign ads and the effects of devastating Hurricane Sandy. Backing for both candidates seemed solid. Only 11 percent of Romney's supporters said they might change their mind, and just 8 percent of Obama's backers indicated the same about the president as he seeks re-election. About a quarter - 26 percent - of registered voters said they have already cast their ballots. Among them, Obama leads by 52 percent to 43 percent. The number is not necessarily predictive because Democrats are typically more likely to vote early than Republicans. For the survey, a sample of 5,575 registered voters and 4,556 likely voters was interviewed online from October 28-November 1. The precision of Reuters/Ipsos online polls is measured using a credibility interval. In this case, the poll has a credibility interval of plus or minus 3.0 percentage points for registered voters and 3.4 for likely voters.