The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Exit polls show pandemic is not the top priority
Economy leads list of chief concerns expressed by voters.
The dismal state of the economy beat out the coronavirus pandemic as the top concern of voters surveyed in early exit polls Tuesday, while public health experts warned that the outcome of the election was unlikely to change the trajectory of the difficult weeks and months ahead. More than a dozen states shattered records for hospitalizations, and a new study showed an unprecedented surge in infections among children.
The omnipresent specter of the coronavirus gave Election Day a distinctly dystopian feel, with voters in goggles and face shields handing ballots topollworkers clad in hazmatsu its or sealed behind layers of plexiglass. But exit polls showed that Americans casting votesTuesday ranked the state of the economy as a more pressing concern than the pandemic, according to data collected by Edison Research and reviewed by The Washington Post.
About 4 in 10 voters said they would prioritize the economy over efforts to limit the spread of the coronavirus. Around one- third of voters said theywere primarily motivated by the economy — a sentiment that was particularly widespread among Trumpsupporters, ofwhom 6 in 10 cited the economy as their top priority.
Health officials nationwide attempted to capture the attention of a distracted nation Tuesday, warning that the steady increase of infections that began in mid- September is not slowing down amid lingering uncertainty over potential vaccines.
Francis Collins, director of the National Institutes of Health, urged Americans “to do the right thing” and wear a mask in public to protect themselves and stop the spread of the virus, asAmericans head into the winter and flu season.
In a written statement, Collins referred to anew study published in the journal Nature Medicine that estimatedthat ifmostAmericans wear masks, up to 130,000 lives could be saved by March. Butifmask- wearingcontinues at its current rate of roughly 50% and social distancing measures are not followed, the study found, the total number of COVID- 19 deaths could reach more than 1 million by the end of February.