Most Americans say state governments have lifted COVID-19 restrictions too quickly

As a growing number of states grapple with a rise in coronavirus cases, 69% of Americans say their greater concern is that state governments have been lifting restrictions on public activity too quickly; just 30% say their bigger concern is that states have been too slow to lift the restrictions. Also, 62% of Americans say the U.S. response to the coronavirus outbreak has been less effective when compared with other wealthy countries. On nearly all aspects of the outbreak, Republicans and Democrats have divergent opinions.

• Republicans, Democrats differ over factors K-12 schools should consider in deciding whether to reopen
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Key things to know about election polling in the United States

One way to help avoid a repeat of the skepticism about surveys that followed the last presidential election is to narrow the gap between perception and reality when it comes to how polling works. A few highlights of our roundup: Estimates of the public’s views of candidates and major policies are generally trustworthy, but estimates of who will win the “horse race” are less so. And the problems with state polls in 2016 do not mean that polling overall is broken.

Coronavirus economic downturn has hit Latinos especially hard

As the nation’s economy contracted at a record rate in recent months, the Hispanic unemployment rate rose sharply, particularly among Hispanic women, and remains higher among Hispanic workers than U.S. workers overall. Yet even before the outbreak, Hispanics were concerned about their economic situation despite near record low levels of unemployment through the end of 2019.

Americans oppose religious exemptions from coronavirus-related restrictions

U.S. adults say houses of worship should be required to follow the same rules about social distancing and large gatherings as other organizations or businesses in their local area; 79% take this position. Many Americans who regularly attend religious services express support for instituting restrictions and modifications at their own places of worship.

• Amid pandemic, Black and Hispanic worshippers more concerned about safety of in-person religious services

Voters rarely switch parties, but recent shifts further educational, racial divergence

Overwhelming majorities of both Republican and Democratic voters have retained their party affiliation since 2018. In fact, just 9% in both parties have changed parties during this time. While individual-level change has not led to a significant net shift in the electorate's overall balance of party identification, that is not the case within demographic groups. For example, white college-educated voters have moved to the Democratic Party, while white voters without a college degree have moved to the GOP.

A growing share of voters say it’s important to them to hear from the Trump and Biden campaigns

Many around the world were pessimistic about inequality even before pandemic

Outside the U.S., Floyd’s killing and protests sparked discussion on legislators’ Twitter accounts

From our research