Poll: Plurality says masks should still be worn outdoors regardless of guidelines

A plurality of voters said they think that people in their area should continue to wear masks outdoors regardless of the guidelines, a new Hill-HarrisX poll finds. 

Forty-two percent of registered voters in the May 10-11 survey said everyone in their area should continue to wear masks outdoors regardless of the CDC recommendations.

Thirty-nine percent of respondents said everyone should follow the guidelines and not wear masks outdoors except in crowds.

Nineteen percent said everyone should do what they want regardless of the guidelines. 

A majority of Democratic respondents said everyone should continue to wear masks outdoors no matter what while 40 percent said people should follow the CDC guidelines and 6 percent said everyone should do what they want regardless.

A plurality of Republican voters, 39 percent, said everyone should follow the guidelines while 31 percent said people should do as they please and 30 percent said to continue wearing masks outdoors.

Forty-one percent of independents said to continue wearing masks outdoors compared to 38 percent who said everyone should follow guidelines and 22 percent said they should do as they please.

Last week, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) announced new guidance on masking, saying fully vaccinated individuals do not have to mask outdoors unless in large crowds.

Thursday, the CDC announced further guidance and stated people who are fully vaccinated don’t need to wear masks indoors or outside and don’t need to maintain physical distance.

The most recent Hill-HarrisX poll was conducted online among 918 registered voters. It has a margin of error of plus or minus 3.23 percentage points.

—Gabriela Schulte