2020 Polling Memo: Swing State Voters on Responsible COVID-19 Relief
As Congress debates the scope and scale of urgently needed COVID-19 relief and recovery packages, a recent public opinion poll highlights several critical considerations. Voters were clear. Financial assistance provided to larger corporations must be accompanied by specific and robust accountability measures to ensure that taxpayer money is spent efficiently and effectively in support of protecting jobs and positioning American industries for future success.
The poll explored voters’ perspectives regarding conditional financial relief to the auto industry and found strong support for requiring company guarantees to retain domestic jobs and manufacturing, and to invest in building the cleaner, more fuel-efficient vehicles of the future.
From May 11-19, Matt George Associates conducted an online survey for the BlueGreen Alliance of 1,000 likely voters in Michigan, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Minnesota, and North Carolina—key swing states for the upcoming presidential election. The sample demographics closely mirrored each state’s 2016 voting records. All of the respondents were registered voters and identified as “absolutely certain” that they will vote in the November 2020 election. This, along with an additional six rigorous screening criteria predicted the likelihood of a respondent to vote with a relatively high degree of certainty. Conducted after the first round of COVID-19 relief was enacted, the poll explored likely voters’ reactions to emergency financial assistance provided as a response to the COVID-19 crisis.
The public opinion poll shows that voters clearly support economic relief during an unprecedented pandemic—especially for individuals and small businesses—but where relief is considered for large corporations, they want it structured the right way—with accountability measures in place.
Click the link below to download the polling memo.