Why Most Voters Don't Want New AI Data Centers Built

Sixty-one percent of likely voters oppose building data centers to power AI. That finding comes from a New York Times/Siena University poll of 1,503 likely voters taken September 8 to September 13, 2026, with full numbers published September 15 as "Toplines: September 2026 Times/Siena Poll of Registered Voters" The New York Times.

Data centers are large buildings full of computers that run AI, a bit like warehouses for computing power. Only 14% said they strongly supported building them, according to reporting on the poll The Verge.

Opposition was wide but not the same in every group. Among voters who backed Donald Trump in 2024, 49% supported building data centers and 45% opposed it. Among voters who backed Kamala Harris in 2024, 74% were opposed. Among those who did not vote in 2024, 67% were opposed.

Even among opponents, most did not call for a full stop. About 56% of opponents favored limits on data centers, while 38% favored a total ban.

Asked why they opposed them, 32% pointed to the environment and water use. Another 21% pointed to effects on local communities, 18% to distrust or dislike of AI, 10% to regulation concerns, and 9% to the economy.

The issue does not drive many votes. Less than 1% in most groups named AI and data centers as the most important issue in deciding a midterm vote. The one exception was voters aged 18 to 29, where 3% picked it. On who would better handle AI and data centers, 40% picked Democrats, 42% picked Republicans, and 18% did not know or refused, among the 554 people asked that question.

Other recent polls found similar opposition. A May Gallup poll found 71% opposed to an AI data center in their local area, including 48% strongly opposed. A June 11 Reuters/Ipsos poll found a majority opposed to local building, with 14% saying they were comfortable with a data center being built. A Fox News Poll found 30% in favor to 70% opposed for building in respondents' area. In Pennsylvania, six in 10 likely voters said they did not want the U.S. to build data centers to house artificial intelligence Philadelphia Inquirer.

New York polls add detail. In an August Siena poll of 811 New York likely voters taken August 3 to 6, voters gave AI a 29% to 52% favorability rating. By 52% to 25%, they said New York's one-year pause on new large data centers was the right decision. That same poll had Hochul leading Blakeman 49% to 39%. In an April Siena poll, New Yorkers said by 43% to 37% that the harms of AI were too great, even as 67% said they had used AI chatbots, 44% said they used AI at least weekly, and 48% said their use had grown since the prior year.

The New York Times also published an article on the September national results titled "A.I. Is Unpopular With Voters, a New York Times/Siena Poll Finds." The September survey follows earlier Times/Siena national polls, including a May poll of 1,507 registered voters taken May 11 to 15 and a January poll of 1,625 registered voters taken January 12 to 17.

The bigger picture here is familiar from past building projects. Need for computers to teach AI and to answer user questions keeps growing, while the power, water for cooling, and land those buildings need face local pushback. People will use chatbots each week and still vote against the building three counties over. In my view the low vote number is key. Less than 1% naming AI as the top midterm issue points away from national elections and toward local zoning boards, power company reviews, water permits, and state pauses, which are harder to plan around than one national rule. There is still room to ease this friction, with better cooling and power use, clearer reports on water and grid effects, and building plans that bring clear local benefits. More computing power is likely over time, but permission to build it will have to be earned, not assumed.