New polling data released Tuesday shows substantial public opposition to the development of data centers designed to support artificial intelligence infrastructure. The survey, conducted by the New York Times and Siena University among 1,503 likely voters in early September, found that 61 percent opposed such construction projects, while only 14 percent expressed strong support for them.
Opposition levels varied along partisan lines. Voters who supported Donald Trump in 2024 were nearly evenly split, with 49 percent in favor and 45 percent opposed. By contrast, those who voted for Kamala Harris or did not vote showed stronger opposition, at 74 percent and 67 percent respectively. Among respondents who expressed opposition to data centers, 56 percent favored imposing limits on construction, while 38 percent preferred an outright ban.
Environmental and water usage concerns topped the list of reasons cited for opposition at 32 percent, followed by worries about local community impacts at 21 percent. General distrust or dislike of AI technology accounted for 18 percent of opposition responses, with regulatory concerns and economic considerations representing 10 and 9 percent respectively. These findings align with earlier polling showing similar levels of public skepticism, including an NBC News poll from March indicating AI scored lower in favorability than immigration enforcement, and a May Gallup survey showing seven in ten Americans opposed local data center construction.
Despite the widespread opposition, data centers and AI infrastructure ranked as a low priority for most voters when considering midterm voting decisions, registering below one percent for most demographic groups. The exception came among younger voters aged 18 to 29, where three percent identified the issue as important. On the question of which political party voters trusted to manage the issue, Democrats received 40 percent support, Republicans 42 percent, with 18 percent expressing uncertainty or declining to answer.
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