WASHINGTON – When the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), a Washington-based rights organization, launched its 2016 Muslims Vote campaign, the goal was to lead 1 million Muslim constituents to the voting booths.

A surge in Muslim electoral participation could have consequences beyond the presidential race, helping Democrats in down-ballot races and perhaps creating a more cohesive voting bloc in future presidential contests.

CAIR said it has already detected a surge in Muslim voter registration.

A June analysis of a private national database found about 824,000 voters whose names matched a list of traditionally Muslim names the group developed.

A similar list from 2012 contained about 500,000 Muslim names, the group reported.

According to the Pew Research Center, Muslims represent just 1 to 2 percent of the country’s population.

However, the majority of the 3.3 million community lives in strategic places, or swing states, like Florida, Ohio and Virginia.