Rust Belt Voters Favor COVID-19 Stimulus Checks, Vaccine, but Not Vaccine Mandate, Poll Shows

President Donald Trump's name on a stimulus check issued by the IRS to help combat the adverse economic effects of the lockdowns, in San Antonio, Texas, on April 23, 2020. (Eric Gay/AP Photo)

Voters in Rust Belt states would like to see more stimulus checks and loans to help Americans after CCP virus lockdowns stymied the economy, according to The Epoch Times Rust Belt Poll. They would also largely take a vaccine against the virus if it’s free, but leaned against the idea of a federal mandate forcing Americans to get the vaccine.

A majority of registered voters in the six states—Iowa, Michigan, Minnesota, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin—supported proposals for coronavirus-related economic relief.

The most popular were additional loans to small businesses, with 77.2 percent for and 11.7 percent against. Next in line was additional stimulus checks, which were supported by 75.2 percent and opposed by 13.9 percent. Extending eviction postponements garnered the support of 71.7 percent with 16.6 percent against. Additional unemployment benefits were the least popular of the lineup, with 64.5 percent supporting them and 23.6 percent opposing.

Both Democrats and Republicans support more stimulus spending, though they’ve had a hard time agreeing on the specifics. Democrats want to add tangential items to the stimulus bills, such as spending on reducing carbon emissions and more access to abortion. Republicans generally prefer leaner bills.

A major part of the American economy was paralyzed as many states issued stay-at-home orders to “nonessential” workers in response to the pandemic. The unemployment rate increased to 14.7 percent in April and decreased to 8.4 percent by August.

Vaccine Yes, but Not Forced

A plurality of voters, 47.2 percent, would get a COVID-19 vaccine if and when its available for free, while 26.1 percent said they wouldn’t get it.

But just as strong a plurality, 46.9 percent, opposed a federal mandate requiring all Americans to get the vaccine, while 34 percent supported it.

President Donald Trump has placed emphasis on the effort to develop a vaccine by the end of the year. Multiple companies are now preparing clinical trials to test their vaccine candidates.

There doesn’t seem to be a push for mandatory vaccination at the federal level. Any such plan would be more likely to come from the states, where it would likely face a lower constitutional hurdle.

The Epoch Times Rust Belt Poll was conducted by Big Data Poll from Sept. 11 to Sept. 15, 2020, interviewing 2,191 registered voters and 1,440 likely voters in the Midwest via online panel targeting Iowa (7 percent), Michigan (20 percent), Minnesota (12 percent), Ohio (23 percent), Pennsylvania (26 percent) and Wisconsin (12 percent). The sampling error is ± 2.1 percent for registered voters and ± 2.6 percent for likely voters at a 95 percent confidence interval. For more information on the methodology and survey design, please refer to the AAPOR Transparency Initiative Checklist, for an overview of survey results click here.