Memo: Voters Support a Response to the Coronavirus that Meets the Scale of the Crisis
By Ethan Winter and Jacob Coblentz
Executive Producer: Jason Ganz
Edited by: Andrew Mangan
Executive Summary:
Registered voters in the US strongly support immediate, aggressive action in response to both the public-health and economic crises. Among the measures they endorse: paid sick leave for all workers, emergency funding for food supplies for those affected by the crisis, free testing for the virus, and moratoriums on evictions, foreclosures, and utility shutoffs.
Public support is both overwhelming (greater than 70 percent) and bipartisan for measures that directly help working people cope with the crisis, with even “very conservative” voters showing majority support for emergency cash payments, waiving copays for coronavirus treatment, and increasing federal funding for Medicaid. On the other hand, voters are more skeptical of policies that prop up large businesses affected by the crisis.
Women on average support policies to address the crisis at a higher rate than men. As women face additional hardships in times of crisis - perhaps unsurprisingly, they are more supportive of government action.
