Forty-eight percent (48%) of voters believe private businesses should be allowed to decide whether or not their customers are required to wear masks. A Ballotpedia survey found that 47% disagree and 5% are not sure.
There is a strong partisan divide on this question. By a 64% to 32% margin, Republican voters believe businesses should set the rules for their customers. By a 57% to 38% margin, Democrats disagree and say businesses should not be allowed to do so. Independent voters are evenly divided.
Moving out of the business environment into public spaces, 68% believe governments have the legal authority to require masks in public. But, again, there is a wide partisan divide. Eighty percent (80%) of Democrats believe state and local governments have such authority. Only 60% of Independents and 56% of Republicans agree.
Methodology
The online survey of 1,000 Registered Voters was conducted by Scott Rasmussen on June 1, 2020. Field work for the survey was conducted by RMG Research, Inc. Respondents were selected at random from a combination of voter lists and Random Digital Engagement techniques. Certain quotas were applied and the overall sample was lightly weighted by geography, gender, age, race, education, 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.
