45 percent in new poll say it’s too early to end transportation mask mandate

Almost half of the Americans surveyed in a new poll released more than a week after a federal judge struck down the federal mask mandate on transportation systems like trains and planes say it is too early for the requirement to end.

The Politico-Morning Consult poll found that 45 percent of respondents say it is too early to end the mask mandate on modes of transportation.

In comparison, 20 percent of people polled say it is the right time to end the federal requirement and another 16 percent say the mask mandate on transportation systems should have already ended.

A separate 12 percent say mask mandates should never have been in place on transportation.

More than half of those surveyed — 57 percent — say they support the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC) extension of the federal requirement until May 3, while 36 percent say they opposed it. 

That extension, however, has been halted after a federal judge in Florida ruled earlier this month that the CDC’s order overstepped its statutory authority. 

The Justice Department said it would appeal the ruling, but in the meantime the Transportation Security Administration has said it will not be enforcing the mask mandate. 

That has left localities in limbo over whether to enforce that requirement. New York City’s subway and Los Angeles County have said they will continue to enforce the mandate while Washington, D.C.’s Metro is making masks optional.

The Politico-Morning Consult poll released Wednesday was conducted April 22-25 with 2,004 registered voters. The margin of error is 2 percentage points.