(Editor's note: This is the first in a series of three stories highlighting results from an exclusive Spectrum News/Ipsos poll of registered voters in Maine.)

More than 60% of Maine registered voters support requiring masks in schools and more than half support employers who mandate vaccines for employees, an exclusive Spectrum News/Ipsos poll found.

The poll also showed that 54% of respondents said they either strongly or somewhat approve of how Gov. Janet Mills, a Democrat, has handled the pandemic, while 43% say they somewhat or strongly disapprove.

 
 
Results from the exclusive Spectrum News/Ipsos poll

The Spectrum News/Ipsos poll of 800 registered voters in Maine age 18 and older was conducted via telephone between Aug. 31 and Sept. 7. It has a margin of error of plus or minus 3.5 percentage points. Sixty-one percent of respondents were reached by cellphone and 39% were contacted on a landline, according to Ipsos.

Mallory Newall, vice president of public affairs at Ipsos, said the poll gives “a representative snapshot” of the attitudes of Maine people.

“It provides comprehensive insight into how Mainers are trying to deal with the pandemic and other issues that are top of mind right now,” she said.

When asked an open-ended question about the largest current issue facing Maine, 21% named COVID-19 as the top concern, followed by the economy (13%) and unemployment (10%).

The poll took place at a time when school boards across the state grappled with whether to require masks, with some boards reversing themselves and instituting mask requirements after the delta variant surged across the state.

And while 63% of respondents support mask requirements in schools, 72% said they support them in airports and train stations. When asked about their support for Mills’ plan to send children back to school, 55% approved and 32% disapproved.

Results from the exclusive Spectrum News/Ipsos poll

With regard to workplaces, the poll asked whether respondents supported employers requiring proof of vaccination for employees – 54% said yes – and whether they supported private businesses requiring proof of vaccination for patrons – 52% indicated support. The poll did not address whether Mainers support the federal vaccine mandate handed down by President Joe Biden last week that requires all businesses with more than 100 employees to have their workers vaccinated or get regular testing.

Dana Connors, president of the Maine State Chamber of Commerce, said businesses throughout Maine have worked with employees to encourage vaccinations, including offering bonuses and time off. He said Biden’s mandate put Maine businesses in a bind at a time when they desperately need workers.

“I wouldn’t draw a conclusion from that poll because 54% is not 75% or even 60%,” he said. “I think there is without question a strong interest in trying to encourage people to be vaccinated. The delta variant resurgence has taken us back to a place nobody wants to be.”

The poll also took the temperature of Mainers when it comes to who they trust to provide accurate information about COVID-19. Unsurprisingly, most trust health officials over elected ones.

Sixty percent said they trust Maine Center for Disease Control and Prevention director Dr. Nirav Shah “a great deal” or a “fair amount,” while Dr. Anthony Fauci, Biden’s chief medical advisor, earned the same level of support from 56%, the poll found. When it comes to politicians, 52% trust Mills, while 49% trust Biden.

The big winner in the trust department? Physicians. A whopping 85% of respondents said they trust their personal doctor “a great deal” or “a fair amount.”

Results from the exclusive Spectrum News/Ipsos poll

“This reflects what we already know: Doctors are the trusted source of information in their communities,” said Madeleine DesFosses, public health campaigns associate for the U.S. Public Interest Research Group Education Fund.

The fund received a federal grant to get Maine doctors out into communities to talk about the importance of vaccines, particularly in areas where vaccine rates tend to be lower such as Washington, Piscataquis, Penobscot and Somerset counties, she said. DesFosses is lining up community meetings with clubs, business groups and charities to put doctors front and center.

“We never ask health care professionals to try and convince folks,” she said. “We work with them to have conversations with people to put the accurate information out there.”