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We've got a new set of HuffPost/YouGov polling on masks. If this was supposed to be the new front in a culture war...someone apparently forgot to tell most of the public. https://www.huffpost.com/entry/face-masks-poll-partisan-culture-war_n_5ec584fcc5b642a7d150e103
There are still significant partisan and demographic divides, but they’re not so pronounced as to leave the two parties diametrically opposed. Rather, the gap is a matter of degrees.
Americans say, 62% to 29%, wearing masks is a matter of public health, not personal choice.
Most say wearing a mask is equally or more about protecting others than oneself.
https://www.huffpost.com/entry/face-masks-poll-partisan-culture-war_n_5ec584fcc5b642a7d150e103
Most say wearing a mask is equally or more about protecting others than oneself.
https://www.huffpost.com/entry/face-masks-poll-partisan-culture-war_n_5ec584fcc5b642a7d150e103
Most Americans say they're mostly or always wearing masks when they're in public and around others (e.g. grocery shopping). But it's not all-or-nothing: fewer, for example, do so when outside but not in close proximity to others.
https://www.huffpost.com/entry/face-masks-poll-partisan-culture-war_n_5ec584fcc5b642a7d150e103
https://www.huffpost.com/entry/face-masks-poll-partisan-culture-war_n_5ec584fcc5b642a7d150e103
Most people who wear masks at least sometimes say they don't feel like others are judging them for it, either positively or negatively. Just 8% feel like they're being judged negatively for it.
Nearly 70% of Americans say wearing a mask near others is respectful. Just 8% see it as a sign of weakness.
https://www.huffpost.com/entry/face-masks-poll-partisan-culture-war_n_5ec584fcc5b642a7d150e103
https://www.huffpost.com/entry/face-masks-poll-partisan-culture-war_n_5ec584fcc5b642a7d150e103
20% of GOP men see mask-wearing as a sign of weakness, compared to 8% of Dem men, 6% of Dem/GOP women.
So: something interesting going on there. But at the same time, even 20% is a distinct minority.
So: something interesting going on there. But at the same time, even 20% is a distinct minority.
A 63% majority of Americans say Trump and other officials should wear masks. 7% say they shouldn't. The rest aren't sure or don't care.
Full writeup, with some additional details, here: https://www.huffpost.com/entry/face-masks-poll-partisan-culture-war_n_5ec584fcc5b642a7d150e103
Crosstabs: https://big.assets.huffingtonpost.com/athena/files/2020/05/20/5ec58353c5b63a90e1d578fe.pdf
Crosstabs: https://big.assets.huffingtonpost.com/athena/files/2020/05/20/5ec58353c5b63a90e1d578fe.pdf
Oh, one additional note: there is definitely some geographic variation here as well.
Also, perpetual caveats about self-reported behavior for all the questions on mask-wearing, which are vulnerable to social desirability effects.
That being said, if flat-out rejecting masks had truly become a symbolic statement of partisan signalling you'd DEFINITELY expect polls to pick that up.
A couple of other good polls I've seen on masks/social distancing recently:
https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/americans-expectations-for-safe-public-gatherings-slip-to-july-at-the-earliest-post-u-md-poll-finds/2020/05/12/7adb92f6-9477-11ea-91d7-cf4423d47683_story.html https://twitter.com/CBSNewsPoll/status/1260896106138959872
https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/americans-expectations-for-safe-public-gatherings-slip-to-july-at-the-earliest-post-u-md-poll-finds/2020/05/12/7adb92f6-9477-11ea-91d7-cf4423d47683_story.html https://twitter.com/CBSNewsPoll/status/1260896106138959872
