FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE May 18, 2020
Arizonans Concerned About Reopening Too Soon
Voters more concerned about a rise in infections than economic consequences
PHOENIX(May 18, 2020)- As Gov. Doug Ducey allows the state’s businesses to open their doors to the public, Arizonans are still wary about venturing out and returning to a pre-COVID-19 life.
OH Predictive Insight’s monthly Arizona Public Opinion Pulse (AZPOP) of 600 likely Arizona 2020 General Election voters shows 52 percent of respondents think the state is opening too soon. Just 32 percent said reopening is going too slow.
The poll, conducted May 9-11, also found concern is still high about the spread of the Coronavirus, though more people responded it wasn’t as much of a concern as in April.
“While the government has given the green light to reopen businesses, a majority of Arizona voters are idling at a flashing red light,” said Mike Noble. “More than 60 percent of voters are still extremely or moderately concerned about the spread of the Coronavirus in Arizona.”
Though the so-called “Stay Home. Stay Healthy. Stay Connected” expired last week, voters are more worried about a rise in cases than they are about the jobs being lost. More than half (52%) of likely Arizona voters, when asked about the stay-at-home order, say they are more worried about easing restrictions too soon which would potentially increase infections and cause more lives to be lost. On the other hand, only about one in three (32%) of respondents said they were more concerned about taking too long to lift the restrictions which may lead to an even bigger economic downturn than has already taken place.
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Opinions on the matter differed depending on where in Arizona they live. Voters in populous Maricopa and Pima Counties were much more concerned about opening too soon, whereas voters who lived in the rest of the state were evenly split between being worried about relaxing restrictions too soon and worried about taking too long.
While voters are concerned that the state may reopen too quickly after being shut down, as a whole, they are less concerned about COVID-19 than they were in last month. Currently, the share of voters who said they were “Extremely” or “Moderately” concerned about the spread of the Coronavirus in Arizona is 61 percent – 9 points lower than in April when it was 70 percent.
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This decrease in levels of concern is largely driven by Republicans and Independents and not Democrats. In April, 55 percent of Republicans said they were either “Extremely” or “Moderately” concerned about the spread of COVID-19 in Arizona. One month later, that share has fallen to 42 percent. In April, almost 4 in 5 (79 percent) of Independents said they were “Extremely” or “Moderately” concerned about the outbreak in Arizona, whereas now that only 66 percent say the same.
The contrast between voters’ concern regarding the Coronavirus is even sharper depending on who the voter supported in the 2016 presidential election. Nearly 9 in 10 Hillary Clinton voters are “Extremely” or “Moderately” concerned about the spread of the Coronavirus in Arizona, but only 38 percent of those who voted for President Trump.
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Methodology: This poll was conducted as a blended phone survey 41% Live Caller/ 59% IVR survey. The survey was completed by OH Predictive Insights from May 9th to May 11th, 2020 from an Arizona 2020 Likely Voter sample. The sample demographics were weighted to accurately reflect gender, region, age, party affiliation, ethnicity, and education level. The sample size was 600 completed surveys, with a MoE of ± 4.0%. Numbers may not equal 100% due to rounding.
Phoenix-based OH Predictive Insights provides accurate polling, focus groups, data analytics, and advanced targeted marketing to political and non-political clients alike. With leading professionals in the advertising, communication, polling and political arenas, OH Predictive Insights will service political and non-political clients looking to improve their footing on key stakeholders and consumers. For more information, please call 602-362-5694 or submit a request online.