55% Fear That Government Officials Will Re-Open Businesses Too Soon

Fifty-five percent (55%) of voters worry that government officials will re-open businesses too soon. A national survey by Scott Rasmussen found that just 29% take the opposite view and fear they will wait too long. Sixteen percent (16%) are not sure.

Data released earlier shows that 45% of voters expect the lockdown to last another month or two. Thirty-seven percent (37%) think it will last for three months or longer. While most (53%) worry primarily about the health crisis, 38% are more worried about the economic impact of the pandemic.

On just about every question there is a wide partisan divide. By a 72% to 15% margin, Democrats worry that the government is likely to re-open things too soon rather than wait too long. Republicans lean in the opposite direction–46% believe government officials will wait too long while 36% think they will re-open things too quickly. Independent voters, by a 56% to 28% margin, fear that businesses will be allowed to re-open too soon.

Other data from the survey found that 41% believe government officials have not gone far enough in shutting things down. Thirty-eight percent (38%) believe the balance has been about right while 14% believe they have gone too far. These results are consistent with strong support for actions taken so far–everything from the ban on travel from China to canceling sports events.

So far, most Democrats (58%) believe government officials have not gone far enough. Most Republicans (52%) believe the balance has been about right. Independent voters are evenly divided (42% Not Far Enough, 34% About Right).

In responding to the coronavirus pandemic, have government officials gone too far in shutting things down, not far enough, or has the balance been about right?

41%    Not Far Enough

38%    Balance About Right

14%    Gone Too Far

  7%    Not Sure

Which worries you the most—that government officials will re-open businesses too soon or that they will wait too long?

55%    Too Soon

29%    Wait Too Long

16%    Not Sure

The survey of 1,000 Registered Voters was conducted by Scott Rasmussen using a mixed mode approach from March 26-28, 2020. Field work for the survey was conducted by RMG Research, Inc. Approximately 72% of the survey respondents were selected at random from lists of Registered Voters. The remainder were selected through Random Digital Engagement. Most were contacted online while 247 were contacted using automated phone polling techniques. Certain quotas were applied to the overall sample and lightly weighted by gender, age, race, 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.

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