The Zogby Poll®: More voters want the economy open than at less capacity; Voters support a national mask mandate

Overall, just under half (48%) of election voters wanted the economy to open fully, while slightly less (43%) voters wanted to keep businesses/activities at less capacity; 9 percent of surveyed election voters were unsure.

Region played a role in how voters felt about potential lockdowns and their impact on the economy. In the South (51% open/41% less capacity) voters were more likely than voters in the East (48% open/45% less capacity), Central/Great Lakes (46% open/44% less capacity), and West (48% open/43% less capacity) regions to want to continue to open the economy without restrictions. Not surprisingly, voters in their prime working age-30-49 (58% open/35% less capacity) were more likely to want to keep the economy open, while the oldest voters aged 65+ (38% open/52% less capacity) wanted to keep business activities at less capacity.

Men (57% open/37% less capacity) and voters with college degrees (54% open/40% less capacity) were much more likely than women (40% open/49% less capacity) and voters without college degrees (44% open/46% less capacity) to want to continue to open up the economy versus keeping businesses limited in their activities and at less capacity.

Republicans (68% open/27% less capacity) were twice as likely to want the economy to be open than Democrats (34% open/57% less capacity), while Independents (42% open/46% less capacity) were more likely to want the economy to be at less capacity, but not on the same level of intensity as Democrats.

When we examine race, white (52% open/41% less capacity) and Hispanic voters (46% open/47% less capacity) wanted the economy to continue to open, while African American (35% open/53% less capacity) and Asian voters (40% open/48% less capacity) were more likely to want to keep businesses and activities at less capacity.

Consumerism also determined how voters felt about opening and closing the economy. Among consumers, weekly Walmart (58% open/34% less capacity) and weekly Amazon shoppers (59% open/35% less capacity) were more likely to want the economy open as opposed to voters who never shop at Walmart (33% open/57% less capacity) or Amazon (42% open/47% less capacity).

Generationally, Millennials (56% open/37% less capacity) and Generation Xers (53% open/39% less capacity) were more likely than Generation Z (42% open/47% less capacity) and Baby Boomers (39% open/52% less capacity) to want the economy to fully open. Among men and women and their environs, urban men (59% open/36% less capacity) were much more likely to support an open economy, while suburban women (37% open/50% less capacity) were more likely to want businesses and activities at less capacity.

Across the board, election voters supported a national mandate asking citizens to wear masks in public to battle the Covid-19 pandemic. Seventy percent said yes, while almost a quarter said no and six percent were not sure. The idea has been in the news because President-elect Joe Biden said on the campaign trail that he would explore an executive order making wearing a mask in public mandatory for all U.S. citizens. It's still yet to be seen if something like a national mandate asking citizens to wear a mask in public can be enforced in all fifty states. The issue is likely to be decided on a state by state basis. But the numbers speak for themselves, the public is behind wearing a mask in public.

Among the different demographics surveyed, there weren't many changes when it came to support and opposition for a national mandate on wearing a mask in public. Younger election voters aged 18-29 (71% yes/21% no) were more likely to say yes to a national mandate for wearing a mask in public, while older voters aged 50-64 (65% yes/28% no) were more likely to say no to the idea. Party and ideology presented the biggest changes in the data among the different sub-groups analyzed. Republicans (55% yes/39% no) and conservatives (51% yes/42% no) were much more likely to say no to a national mandate asking citizens to wear a mask than Democrats (89% yes/7% no), Independents (63% yes/28% no), Liberals (90% yes/6% no) and moderates (73% yes/21% no). The environs of election voters also played a part in support and opposition for a national mask mandate. Rural voters (58% yes/35% no) were more likely than large city voters (82% yes/14% no) and suburban voters (68% yes/26% no) to say no to the proposed mandate.

Support among surveyed voters for wearing masks in public is strong. The support among voters to close the economy is not so strong. More voters want the economy to open further and not remain at less capacity. As the number of coronavirus cases increase, support for an open economy might wane. From what we can gauge from the data, the public is willing to strike a fine balance between remaining safe and living life. Keeping the economy going so people can live, work, eat and play is very important, especially during a pandemic. Where the balance between safety and life is ultimately struck is still up in the air, especially as colder weather approaches.

Zogby Analytics conducted an online survey of 5180 adults who voted in the November 3rd Presidential Election.

Using internal and trusted interactive partner resources, thousands of adults were randomly invited to participate in this interactive survey. Each invitation is password coded and secure so that one respondent can only access the survey one time.

Using information based on census data, voter registration figures, CIA fact books and exit polls, we use complex weighting techniques to best represent the demographics of the population being surveyed. Weighted variables may include age, race, gender, region, party, education, and religion. The party breakdown for this survey is as follows: 37% Democrat, 35% Republican and 28% Independent/unaffiliated.

Based on a confidence interval of 95%, the margin of error for 5180 is +/- 1.4 percentage points. This means that all other things being equal, the identical survey repeated will have results within the margin of error 95 times out of 100.

Subsets of the data have a larger margin of error than the whole data set. As a rule we do not rely on the validity of very small subsets of the data especially sets smaller than 50-75 respondents. At that subset we can make estimations based on the data, but in these cases the data is more qualitative than quantitative.

Additional factors can create error, such as question wording and question order.

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About Zogby Analytics:
Zogby Analytics is respected nationally and internationally for its opinion research capabilities. Since 1984, Zogby has empowered clients with powerful information and knowledge critical for making informed strategic decisions.

The firm conducts multi-phased opinion research engagements for banking and financial services institutions, insurance companies, hospitals and medical centers, retailers and developers, religious institutions, cultural organizations, colleges and universities, IT companies and Federal agencies. Zogby's dedication and commitment to excellence and accuracy are reflected in its state-of-the-art opinion research capabilities and objective analysis and consultation.