81% Support School Mask Mandate In Massachusetts, Poll Finds
BOSTON (CBS) – Massachusetts voters overwhelmingly support a school mask mandate, according to a new poll.
The survey from the MassINC polling group released Thursday shows 81-percent of registered voters in the state support requiring masks for anyone entering schools in Massachusetts.
Only 12-percent were against it. Seven-percent were not sure or refused to answer the question.
When broken down by political parties, 84-percent of Democrats support the mandate, as do 70-percent of Republicans and 84-percent of independents.
Eighty-three percent of women support the mandate compared to 79-percent of men surveyed.
Earlier this week, Governor Charlie Baker said he was not considering changing the mask guidance because Massachusetts is in a "dramatically different place" than other states, based on vaccination and hospitalization rates.
But, he's been criticized by some for leaving mask mandates up to local cities and towns.
The Massachusetts Department of Secondary Education said recently it "strongly recommends" children in grades K-6 should wear masks in school because children under 12 can't get a COVID-19 vaccine yet.
As a result, several Massachusetts towns have issued their own mask mandates for schools, regardless of vaccination status.
The poll of 724 Massachusetts registered voters was conducted August 4-to-13.
You can read the full results here.
