Looking back over the past year or so, 55% of voters agree that “Despite good intentions, shutting down businesses and locking down society did more harm than good.” A Scott Rasmussen national survey found that 38% disagree and 7% are not sure.
Those totals include 34% who Strongly Agree and 20% who Strongly Disagree.
Just over a year ago, 41% thought the lockdowns did more harm than good. So, the current numbers reflect a 14 percentage point increase in that number.
As on most pandemic related topics, there is a partisan divide. Most Republicans (76%) and Independents (51%) agree that the lockdowns did more harm than good. However, most Democrats (57%) disagree.
There is, however, a divide within the Democratic Party. White Democrats, by a 65% to 32% margin, reject the idea that lockdowns did more harm than good. Black Democrats and Other Democrats are evenly divided.
During the pandemic, government officials exercised extraordinary power over the lives of individual Americans. The survey also found that 62% are worried that many government officials will try to continue exercising such power over individual Americans.
Once again there is a partisan divide and a divide within the Democratic Party. White Democrats, by a 57% to 39% margin, are not worried about government officials keeping too much power. Black Democrats, by a 64% to 27% margin, are worried.
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Note: Neither Scott Rasmussen, ScottRasmussen.com, nor RMG Research, Inc. have any affiliation with Rasmussen Reports. While Scott Rasmussen founded that firm, he left more than seven years ago and has had no involvement since that time.
Methodology
The survey of 1,200 Registered Voters was conducted by Scott Rasmussen using a mixed mode approach from July 22-24, 2021. Field work for the survey was conducted by RMG Research, Inc. Most respondents were contacted online or via text while 271were contacted using automated phone polling techniques. Online respondents were selected from a list of Registered Voters and through a process of Random Digital Engagement. Certain quotas were applied, and the sample was lightly weighted by geography, gender, age, race, education, internet usage, and political party to reasonably reflect the nation’s population of Registered Voters. Other variables were reviewed to ensure that the final sample is representative of that population.
