FERNDALE, Wash. — 355 My Ferndale News (MFN) readers participated in an August 4th online survey by providing information about how much they agree with advice and trust information being provided by government agencies, how their needs and behaviors have been affected and what they expect in the future. Click here for the overall survey results.
Readers participating in the MFN survey provided age and political affiliation preference. Using that information, responses are able to be grouped by age and political preferences to reveal areas of group agreement.
Who participated in the survey
An equal number of survey participants said they prefer either the Democratic or Republican parties, and 20% with some other or no political preference.
Democratic 40% Republican 40% Other 20%
25% of survey participants said they are 61 to 70-years-old, the largest age group. The number of respondents in the up to 21-years-old and over 80 age groups were too small to be statistically relevant in comparison with the other groups so they were not included in the following observations.
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Click for more information| 21 years and younger | 1% |
| 22 to 30-years-old | 6% |
| 31 to 40-years-old | 11% |
| 41 to 50-years-old | 19% |
| 51 to 60-years-old | 21% |
| 61 to 70-years-old | 25% |
| 71 to 80-years-old | 15% |
| 81 years and older | 2% |
SURVEY RESPONSES
What’s your impression of the COVID-19 situation today?
Political preference strongly defined whether respondents were likely to be optimistic or pessimistic about what the future holds regarding the COVID-19 situation. 61% of those favoring the Democratic party feel it is getting a lot worse while those favoring the Republican party were mostly spread between things are getting a lot better, a little better and staying the same. Only 20% of Republican respondents felt things were getting worse.
By age group, most all groups feel things are getting worse, with a tendency toward “a lot worse.” The exception was in the 40-something group where there was a majority who feel things are getting a little better.
How much confidence do you have in the COVID-19 data being reported by government agencies?
All age groups seem to agree that trust in the COVID-19 data coming from government agencies was worthy of “some confidence” except for the 20-somethings who were more skeptical with little to no confidence.
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Click for more informationDemocrats said they had “some confidence” in the data while Republicans were spread mostly across little to no confidence. Other party respondents were evenly spread between “no confidence” to “some confidence.”
Do you agree with the strategies provided by the US federal government to deal with COVID-19?
Political preference strongly defined whether respondents were likely to agree with strategies being suggested at the federal level. Republicans 44% “mostly agree” and 33% “mostly not” or “not at all.” 79% of Democrats were spread between “not at all” and “mostly not.” Other party respondents were spread between “mostly agree,” “mostly not” and “not sure.”
Age groups were rather scattered with many evenly split between “mostly agree” and “mostly not” except for the 50-somethings who “mostly agree.”
Do you agree with the strategies provided by the Washington State government to deal with COVID-19?
Most age groups were likely to “mostly agree” with state strategies except for 40-somethings who were evenly split between “mostly agree” and “mostly not.”
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Again, much like the previous question, party lines seemed to determine responses with Democrats strongly in agreement with state strategies and most Republicans were “not at all” in agreement but also included several who “mostly agree.” Other party respondents were nearly identical to the Republican trend.
Do you agree with the strategies provided by the Whatcom County government to deal with COVID-19?
As with the previous 2 questions, party lines seemed to dictate the responses. 81% of Democrats were in agreement with county strategies while 60% of Republicans were not. Other party respondents were spread between “mostly agree,” “mostly not” and “not sure” much like they were regarding federal strategies.
All age groups are in agreement on this question with majorities responding “mostly agree” across all groups.
How often do you wear a face mask while out in public?
All age groups are in agreement regarding mask wearing with majorities responding that they wear masks “all the time” across all groups except for the 40-somethings with a larger contingent who wear them “most of the time.”
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Click for more informationDemocrats were strongly inclined to wear masks “all the time” while Republicans and other party respondents were spread mostly between “all the time” and “most of the time.”
How much contact do you have with people outside your household due to the COVID-19 situation?
65% of Democrats said they have little to no contact with others outside their own household while Republicans and other party respondents were both split between “little contact and “regular contact.”
All age groups saw responses spread across all options except the extremes of “no contact” and “not isolating.”
How much longer do you expect the disruption to travel, schools, work and events will continue?
All age groups agreed that disruptions are likely to continue through the end of the year with “a few more months” the distant 2nd choice.
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Click for more informationDemocrats and other party respondents were soundly behind the “end of the year” forecast with over 70% of responses while Republicans were split with 50% responding “end of the year” and 40% saying “a few more months”
Have you needed assistance with obtaining food and/or paying bills during the last few months?
Overall, 8% say they have needed assistance with obtaining food and/or paying bills over the past few months. These were evenly spread by count across all 3 political groups.
These were also evenly spread by count across all age groups except 60-somethings who had 3-times as many who said they had needed assistance.
Have you helped others in need of assistance with obtaining food and/or paying bills during the last few months?
Overall, 53% say they have helped others in need of assistance. 40-somethings and 60-somethings had twice the number who said they had provided assistance than did not.
66% of other party respondents, 60% of Democrats and 40% of Republicans reported helping others.