The Associated Press

PHOENIX - About half the Hispanics who voted Tuesday in Arizona supported a successful ballot proposal that makes English the state's official language, according to an exit poll by The Associated Press.

While whites and blacks favored it overwhelmingly, Hispanics and other racial groups were divided over Proposition 103, which requires government functions be conducted in English.

Like three other immigration measures on the Arizona ballot, Proposition 103 drew in support in the 70-percent range. People on both sides of the immigration debate said they weren't surprised by Hispanic support for the proposal.

Fred Solop, a professor and pollster at Northern Arizona University, said the views of Hispanics are shaped by their education, income and the length of their families' presence in Arizona.