Poll: Most voters want statewide mask order
An overwhelming majority of Florida voters want the state to require people to wear masks in public to combat the spread of the coronavirus.
A mask requirement has support of 79% of Florida voters, according to a Quinnipiac University Poll released Thursday. Just 20% oppose a mandate.
Support for a mask mandate — something Gov. Ron DeSantis has said repeatedly he won’t do — is widespread. It’s supported by voters of all age groups, both genders, across racial lines and people of differing political affiliations.
Pollsters found people are concerned about the spread of coronavirus in Florida: 83% consider it a a serious problem; only 16% don’t. And 70% consider spread in Florida is “out of control,” with 24% seeing it as under control.
There is much less support for a statewide stay-athome order than for a mask order. Quinnipiac reported 49% of Florida voters favor and 48% oppose a stay at home order. There’s a big partisan difference: 81% of
Republicans oppose and 77% of Democrats support a stay at home order. Independents are evenly split.
DeSantis has said he doesn’t plan on imposing such an order.
A large majority of Florida voters also don’t think it’s safe to reopen schools.
The Quinnipiac poll shows 62% of Florida voters think it will be unsafe to send students to elementary, middle and high schools in the fall; 33% disagree.
There’s slightly less concern about sending students to college in the fall, though most people don’t think that’s safe either. It’s seen as unsafe by 57% of Florida voters and safe by 37%.
The public’s view is different from the stance taken by DeSantis and President Donald Trump, who are demanding a quick return to classrooms.
South Florida school districts plan to begin the new school year online. In-person teaching came to an abrupt halt in mid-March as the coronavirus spread in Florida and around the country.
DeSantis wants schools open for in-person instruction, though in a brief speech Tuesday afternoon he said students wouldn’t be forced to attend. The ultimate decision, DeSantis said, would be up to parents.
“COVID should not deprive our kids from the tools they need for success,” DeSantis said in his Tuesday remarks. “Fear doesn’t help stop the virus.”
Trump has also pushed hard for reopening. “They think it’s going to be good for them politically, so they keep the schools closed,” Trump said at a White House discussion earlier this month. “No way. We’re very much going to put pressure on governors and everybody else to open the schools.”
Trump has threatened to withhold funding from schools that don’t reopen.
On July 6, DeSantis’ hand-picked education commissioner ordered that school buildings reopen when the new school year starts. But local officials retained decision making authority based on health considerations.
The public’s view of the safety of reopening schools carries through to how they assess DeSantis and Trump handling the reopening of schools.
The poll found 56% disapprove and 27% approve of DeSantis’ handling the school reopening issue. For Trump, 59% disapprove and 36% approve.
Voters’ concerns about coronavirus safety extend to Trump’s decision, with DeSantis’ support, to move an abbreviated version of the Republican National Convention in Jacksonville.
A convention in Jacksonville is seen as unsafe by 62% of voters. Among Republicans, 69% say it will be safe to hold the late-August event there.
Late Thursday, however, Trump announced the Jacksonville portion of the convention is canceled.
Quinnipiac surveyed 924 Florida registered voters. The survey, conducted from July 16-20 with live callers to landlines and cellphones, has a margin of error of plus or minus 3 percentage points.
The sample size for smaller groups, such as Democrats, Republicans and independents, is smaller and the margin of error is higher.
Pollster ratings from FiveThirtyEight.com give Quinnipiac a B plus for its data gathering and accuracy.