Defund Police Effort Universally Opposed Statewide
LANSING, Mich. –As the fear of a second wave of coronavirus looms, a majority of voters would support a national shutdown, should scientists advise to do so. According to the latest statewide poll conducted by Marketing Resource Group (MRG), LLC, 53 percent of Michigan voters would support the national shutdown compared to the 42 percent who would oppose.
While efforts are
expedited to release an FDA-approved coronavirus vaccine, an overwhelming
majority of voters would oppose a government mandate that would require citizens
to receive the vaccine, with 77 percent opposing the mandate and 19 percent
supporting. If a vaccine would become available, 14 percent of respondents
conveyed their willingness to be among the first recipients of the vaccine,
while 29 percent would choose not to vaccinate. Another 54 percent of voters
would wait until others received the vaccine.
“We frequently hear life will not return to normal until a vaccine is widely available; however, the majority of voters would not immediately receive it, much less support a government mandate that would intrude on an individual’s choice,” said Jenell Leonard, principal of MRG, LLC. “The coronavirus continues to be at the top of voters’ minds but the debate of how best to handle it will continue.”
In the MRG Michigan Poll® conducted back in March, 82 percent of respondents voiced concern for how COVID-19 will impact them and their family. These concerns remain high today as 36 percent of respondents ranked coronavirus as their top issue followed by jobs and the economy at 20 percent and politicians/government at 13 percent. The lowest ranking issues were environment, taxes/gas tax, and auto insurance which all ranked at one percent.
The recent poll also surveyed respondents on their support of current efforts to defund the police. Fifteen percent conveyed support of the effort while 73 percent oppose. Opposition to the effort was strong statewide, including in Detroit, where 46 percent opposed compared to the 31 percent that support.
The actual wording of the coronavirus questions and most important
issue question is below:
Coronavirus
Q. If a vaccine becomes available and approved, would you want to be one of the first to receive the vaccine, would you wait a while until others received it or would you choose not to be vaccinated?
Be one of the first 14 %
Wait a while 54 %
Would not be vaccinated 29 %
Don’t know 3 %
Refused 0 %
Q. Would you support a government mandate that would require citizens to receive a coronavirus vaccine?
Strongly support 10 %
Somewhat support 9 %
Neither support / oppose 2 %
Somewhat oppose 9 %
Strongly oppose 68 %
Don’t know 3 %
Refused 0 %
Total Support: 19%
Total Oppose: 77%
Q. Presidential nominee Joe Biden recently stated he would be willing to invoke a national
shutdown if a second wave of coronavirus hits the United States and scientists advise him to do so. Would you support a national shutdown order if a second wave of coronavirus hits the U. S?
Strongly support 42 %
Somewhat support 11 %
Neither support / oppose 2 %
Somewhat oppose 5 %
Strongly oppose 37 %
Don’t know 3 %
Refused 1 %
Total Support: 53%
Total Oppose: 42%
Defund the Police
Q. Do you support democrat efforts to defund the police?
Yes 15 %
No 73 %
Unsure /Don’t know 10 %
No Response 3 %
Top Issues
Q. What are the most important issues facing the state of Michigan at this time? That is, the one or two you personally are most worried about?
The Coronavirus 36 %
The economy and jobs 20 %
Politicians/Government 13 %
Education 9 %
Roads/infrastructure/pot hole 5 %
Health Care Issues 5 %
Crime/Drugs 3 %
Environmental issues 1 %
Taxes/Gas Tax 1 %
Auto Insurance Rates 1 %
Don’t know 3 %
Refused 2 %
Other 3 %
MRG Michigan Poll® Fall 2020
The survey of 600 likely Michigan voters was conducted by live interview September 14-19, 2020 with a +4 Dem sample. The survey sample was randomly drawn from a listed sample of all registered voters with a history of voting and stratified by city and township to reflect voter turnout. In addition, quotas for gender and cell phone interviews were met within each geographic area, and extra efforts were made to reach African Americans. Forty percent of the interviews were conducted with cell phone only or cell phone dominant households. Some columns may not add up to 100% because of rounding.
A sample of 600 likely voters in Michigan yields a sampling margin of error of ±4 percent with a 95 percent confidence interval. The sampling margin of error for subgroups may be higher depending on the size of the subgroup.
About Marketing Resource Group
Lansing, Michigan-based Marketing Resource Group, LLC (www.mrgmi.com) is an award-winning PR firm representing corporate, association, nonprofit, and private clients with interests in Michigan. MRG offers expertise in public affairs, communications, political campaign management, and public opinion survey research. For more than 30 years, MRG has conducted its bi-annual omnibus Michigan Poll®, tracking the pulse of Michigan voters on key statewide public policy and political issues. MRG is the only Michigan public opinion survey research firm that maintains nearly 30 years of trend analyses of voter attitudes related to state and national leaders, political parties, and the political and economic climate in Michigan.
