A new survey from The New York Times and Siena College published on September 15 shows that 61% of 1,503 likely voters oppose building data centers for AI. Only 14% strongly support it. This is the latest in a series of polls yielding similar results: Americans are not welcoming the wave of data center construction.
Who opposes, who supports?
The partisan divide is stark. Voters who backed Trump in 2024 are split almost evenly: 49% support compared to 45% opposed. However, those who voted for Harris or did not vote lean heavily toward opposition, at 74% and 67% respectively. This means opposing data centers is not the exclusive stance of either camp, but the intensity of opposition is far stronger among Democrats.
Among those opposed, 56% favor limits over outright bans, while 38% want an outright ban. Top reasons for opposition: the environment and water usage ranked first at 32%, local community impact at 21%, and general dislike or distrust of AI at 18%, followed by regulatory and economic concerns.
A consistent trend across multiple polls
The NYT/Siena results are not an outlier. An NBC News survey from March 2026 showed that AI ranked lower than ICE (Immigration and Customs Enforcement) in favorability. A Gallup poll from May 2026 found that 7 in 10 Americans oppose building local AI data centers.
There is a notable nuance in the latest survey: despite strong opposition to data centers, voters ranked AI and data centers quite low on the list of issues determining their midterm votes. This suggests that while people dislike data centers, it is not yet enough to make them a top campaign issue. However, this may change as construction projects actually arrive in local communities.
The gap between investment and acceptance
The broader picture reveals a deepening paradox. The AI industry is in the midst of massive investment, with hundreds of billions of dollars pouring into new infrastructure. But the public increasingly does not want that infrastructure in their backyards. Loudoun County, Virginia, home to the largest concentration of data centers in the U.S., has become a symbol of resistance: residents complain about noise, water consumption, pollution, and altered landscapes.
A political backlash has begun. Politicians from both parties are beginning to say “no” to data centers, realizing that voting in favor of construction could cost them local votes. This trend could substantially slow AI infrastructure expansion plans in the U.S., regardless of whether federal policy is supportive.
The key question to watch is whether public opposition will be strong enough to generate restrictive legislation on data centers at the state or federal level. If so, it will directly affect the pace of AI deployment in the U.S. and could push part of that investment toward countries facing less resistance.