Pennsylvanians Open To Masks, But Divided On Reopening Schools, Poll Finds

Keys. Wallet. Cell phone. Face mask.

A majority of Pennsylvanians -- 55% -- say they always grab a mask when they leave home and are around other people, according to results from a new Morning Call/Muhlenberg College poll.

Another 29% say they wear a mask most of the time; 6% wear one “a good amount” of the time; 6% do so some of the time; and 4% say they never wear a mask.

Those results show more consistent mask use in Pennsylvania, where Gov. Tom Wolf has mandated mask-wearing outside of the home, compared with national findings in a Gallup survey conducted earlier this summer. In that poll, 44% of Americans said they always wear a mask, and 14% said they never do so.

The new Pennsylvania poll, which was conducted Aug. 11 to 17, shows state voters across party lines are likely to be wearing a mask outside of their home. Two out of three Democrats said they always wear one, compared with 58% of independents and 43% of Republicans.

The data appears to reflect what can be seen anecdotally in many areas of the state, where mask-wearing quickly became common, said Chris Borick, a political science professor and director of the Muhlenberg College Institute of Public Opinion, which conducted the poll.

Kevin Smith, a Republican poll respondent from Delaware County, said his family wears mask consistently, particularly around elderly family members, “even if they tell us we don’t have to.”

“We’re trying to lead by example,” said Smith, 46.

Republican Carol Charvat, of Johnstown, said she wears a mask in stores “only because we have to.” The 58-year-old said while people in areas with higher rates of COVID-19 should take more precautions, she doesn’t see why they need to be as careful in areas with fewer cases.

Her grandson has asthma, and he has struggled with getting enough air flow while wearing a mask, Charvat added.

The data on Pennsylvanians’ mask-wearing was part of a broader survey that also looked at how likely voters are viewing the presidential race, how public officials have handled their response to the pandemic, and how voters feel about heading to a polling site.

Pennsylvania voters gave Trump a negative rating on his response to the coronavirus outbreak: 51% said he’s handled the response poorly, 9% said he’s done fair, 21% good, and 17% rated his response as excellent.

Most Republicans gave Trump a positive rating on his response: 40% said he’s done excellent, and 38% said he’s done a good job, with 11% rating his response as poor. Democrats overwhelmingly rated his performance as poor.

Among independents, nearly half -- 49% -- also said Trump has handled the pandemic poorly, with 18% saying fair, 26% good, and 4% excellent.

While Wolf drew strong numbers earlier in the pandemic, and his overall approval rating remained positive, the governor’s coronavirus response drew a mixed review: 10% said he’s done excellent, 32% said good, 25% said fair, and 31% said poor.

State voters were similarly divided over how Pennsylvania schools should be operating this fall. The largest share, 39%, support a mix of in-person and online instruction for Pennsylvania’s K-12 students, while 28% prefer classes to be entirely online and 22% want to see in-person classes.

In the Lehigh Valley, Bethlehem Area schools plan for students to return to school in-person two days a week at 50% capacity. Allentown schools will start online, with district officials saying they hope to return to in-person classes later this fall.

Smith said his three children will start the school year online for at least the first month, and their district will reevaluate if they can return. He liked that approach, saying it puts at least 30 days of space between families returning from any summer vacations and the date when students and teachers would be interacting again.

For schools that do resume in person, Wolf’s administration has directed that masks be worn even when students and educators are 6 feet apart.

While the pandemic has spurred voter education efforts about how to vote by mail, most Pennsylvanians said they believe state officials are prepared to safely hold the election and that they still plan to head to a polling site this November.

Nearly two-thirds, or 64%, said they intend to cast their ballot in person, compared with 26% who plan to vote by mail.

Another 10% of likely voters were unsure of which approach they’ll use. That includes Smith, who said he and his wife feel feel comfortable about heading to a polling place, based on the infection rates in their area, but they’ll evaluate that again as Election Day draws closer.

“We won’t risk our health,” Smith said. “But we also won’t risk our right to vote by not showing up.”

Washington correspondent Laura Olson can be reached at 202-780-9540 or [email protected]

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