MADISON, Wis. (AP) — A majority of Wisconsin residents still support the “safer at home” order issued by Gov. Tony Evers in response to the coronavirus pandemic, but that support is down from where it was six weeks ago, based on the latest Marquette University Law School poll released Tuesday.
In March, 86% of respondents said the order that closed nonessential businesses, shut down schools and encouraged people to stay at home was appropriate. Only 10% said it was an overreaction.
But in the latest poll, conducted between May 3 and Thursday, 59% said “safer at home” was appropriate and 26% said it was an overreaction.
The change is being driven by increasing partisan polarization, said pollster Charles Franklin.
In March, over 75% of Republicans supported the shutdown. But in May, they are now evenly divided on it while 90% of Democrats remain in favor.
Wisconsin residents are also becoming generally more pessimistic about when life will return to normal.
In March, 71% of respondents thought normalcy would return by August, but just 38% think that now. In March, 20% said they thought it would be this fall or later when life gets back to normal. The latest poll shows a majority, 51%, now believe that will be the case.
The poll of 811 registered voters had a margin of error of plus or minus 4 percentage points.
