AUM pollster David Hughes: 75% of Alabama voters approve of Ivey mask mandate

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October 11, 2020

As it turns out, despite the outcry from various segments of society, voters in Alabama overwhelmingly support the mask mandate component of Gov. Kay Ivey’s so-called “Safer at Home” order, which has been in effect in some form since April.

In addition to showing strong leads for Republican U.S. Senate candidate Tommy Tuberville and President Donald Trump in Alabama against their respective opponents, U.S. Sen. Doug Jones (D-Mountain Brook) and Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden, as the November 3 election approaches, a survey conducted by Auburn University at Montgomery’s (AUM) Department of Political Science and Public Administration released last week showed support for masks by “roughly three-quarters of respondents.”

David Hughes, assistant professor of political science and director of the AUM poll, explained those findings during an appearance on Alabama Public Television’s “Capitol Journal” on Friday.

“We asked Alabamians if whether they approved or disapproved of the Governor’s mask mandate,” he explained. “And we see that roughly three-quarters of respondents approve of the Governor’s measures. So to the extent, there is grumbling, it is largely among a minority of voters. We also asked voters if whether they would continue to voluntarily continue to wear masks throughout the end of the year should the COVID-19 pandemic persist. Once again, we see large majorities of Alabamians support of the idea of voluntarily wearing their mask. Very small portions of Alabamians say that they won’t voluntarily wear masks.”

Hughes emphasized the difference between real life and social media.

“Twitter and Facebook aren’t real life,” he said. “Most people are really reasonable about this and understand that it is a public health measure and that masks are there to protect your loved ones.”

@Jeff_Poor is a graduate of Auburn University and the University of South Alabama, the editor of Breitbart TV, a columnist for Mobile’s Lagniappe Weekly, and host of Mobile’s “The Jeff Poor Show” from 9 a.m.-12 p.m. on FM Talk 106.5.