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The new poll found that 41 percent of Americans would oppose a data center being built within three miles of where they live, up from 28 percent in the January

The new poll found that 41 percent of Americans would oppose a data center being built within three miles of where they live, up from 28 percent in the January survey. The number supporting those projects dropped during the same period, from 37 percent to 24 percent. The shift was especially pronounced among people who said they had voted for Kamala Harris in the 2024 presidential race. The results reflect the scope of the challenge facing the industry and its supporters as the rapid buildout of data centers brings the issue home to voters ahead of the November midterms. More than 200 data centers are going up in dozens of competitive House districts, a recent POLITICO analysis found. “It’s rare to see political attitudes change this fast in an era where they are often quite static and partisan,” said Seb Wride, head of polling at Public First.

jleyank 2mo ago
Not surprising at all. There is paid for the locals when these things appear, but they don’t get anything back for that paid. Even if they’re computer literate and using ai, there’s no notice that this came from their local centre. Nor is there anything that’s unique to a particular location. People get annoyed at being inconvenienced so that others, elsewhere can make money.
- yostrovs 2mo ago
  Here in Michigan there are large industrial facilities that most locals have no idea what is done inside. There's noise, electric usage, trucks coming in and out, but most people think it's ok. Data centers are seen differently.
  - logankeenan 2mo ago
    It’s different because those places typically provide jobs for the people in the surrounding area. Data centers don’t employ enough people to provide an economic benefit for the people that live near them.
  - SirFatty 2mo ago
    "but most people think it's ok." How would you know what "most people" think? Broad generalizations and opinion stated as fact.
    - RajT88 2mo ago
      If you live in the area, it's easy to say that. There's no protests in the local parks. There's no shouting matches at city council meetings. I say this as a person living in a town where they are building a bunch of data centers, and nobody cares about the existing industrial areas which include factories and heavy industry. No protests, no shouting matches at city council meetings. None of that. Granted, those were built a long time ago.
      - SirFatty 2mo ago
        That's a few people, not most people.
        RajT88 2mo ago
        Most people don't show up to the data center protests. Most people probably are probably not aware of planned industrial development in the rural north part of my town. Most people probably don't read enough local news to be aware. My general feeling. I haven't done a count, but gut feeling maybe 1% of homes and businesses in my town have "Say NO to Data Centers" signs.
  - RajT88 2mo ago
    The tech industry has spent that last few decades fucking with people: addictive infinite scrolling sites, dark patterns, etc. Now the same assholes are saying their machines will eradicate the job market. And also will make their neighborhood noisy and their water and electric bills high. The industry has earned this pushback several times over. (I am generalizing but you get the idea from a layperson's perspective)
- WarmWash 2mo ago
  Usually the states give the incentives, the local towns usually get their tax revenue doubled or tripled, hence why these boards sprint to approval
  - vharuck 2mo ago
    States may dangle the tax carrots, but localities could be the ones paying for road and utility improvements. The costs for that could be much less than projected gains in tax revenue, but that's a gamble. Not to mention being left with abandoned buildings. We didn't even need to have a bubble pop to see abandoned facilities. If one company goes out of business (normal in a healthy economy), there's little we can (and politicians are willing to) do to make sure defunct companies clean up any messes.
    - WarmWash 2mo ago
      From the few cases I have looked at, tax revenues for the towns is in the $30-40M/yr range. I cannot fathom what kind of road improvements a datacenter would need that wouldn't be easily offset. Or what demolition costs for a square box would be that would eclipse that, nevermind the value of the underlying land.
nmeofthestate 2mo ago
>It’s rare to see political attitudes change this fast On the contrary - these mass political crazes are like flash-floods these days.
- mapping365 2mo ago
  This is not your standard partisan issue. What the Unabomber, Steve Bannon’s tech guy, and Bernie Sanders taught me about the great data center backlash of 2026 - https://www.wired.com/story/how-data-centers-broke-american-politics/ https://www.wired.com/story/how-data-centers-broke-american-... Data center approvals in Texas halted until audits completed, Gov. Greg Abbott says - https://www.texastribune.org/2026/08/03/texas-data-center-project-audit-greg-abbott/ https://www.texastribune.org/2026/08/03/texas-data-center-pr... DeSantis lambastes White House over possibility of blocking state-level AI laws - https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/policy/technology/4605403/ron-desantis-white-house-state-ai-laws/ https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/policy/technology/4605403... New York becomes the first state to impose a data center moratorium - https://www.reuters.com/world/new-york-becomes-first-state-impose-data-center-moratorium-2026-07-14/ https://www.reuters.com/world/new-york-becomes-first-state-i... Libertarian Ohio governor candidate calls for ‘immediate moratorium’ on new data centers -https://www.cleveland.com/news/2026/08/ohio-governor-candidate-calls-for-immediate-moratorium-on-new-data-centers.html https://www.cleveland.com/news/2026/08/ohio-governor-candida... Oregonians want data center moratorium and no more tax breaks, poll finds - https://www.oregonlive.com/silicon-forest/2026/08/oregonians-want-data-center-moratorium-and-no-more-tax-breaks-poll-finds.html https://www.oregonlive.com/silicon-forest/2026/08/oregonians... Virginia state senators call for data center moratorium - https://www.nbcwashington.com/news/local/northern-virginia/virginia-state-senators-call-for-data-center-moratorium/4137267/ https://www.nbcwashington.com/news/local/northern-virginia/v... Tucker Carlson, Kevin O’Leary have testy exchange over Utah data center issues - https://www.businessinsider.com/tucker-carlson-kevin-oleary-clash-over-funding-ai-data-centers-2026-5 https://www.businessinsider.com/tucker-carlson-kevin-oleary-...
  - SirFatty 2mo ago
    "Tucker Carlson, Kevin O’Leary" A real meeting of the minds.
IG_Semmelweiss 2mo ago
This could have been stopped so easily on its tracks with a simple premise: 1 day turnaround build permits, to any proposed off-the-grid data centers. BYO power. BYO water. BYO pipes & sewage. OK, you are good. Now build! Instead they are look like parasites invading the heartland and sucking resources (true or not), and owners pretend to be surprised when they are getting voted down.
- sarchertech 2mo ago
  > 1 day turnaround build permits, to any proposed off-the-grid data centers. Utility planning is one tiny part of approving a building permit. You still need to look at storm water runoff, fire safety, environmental impact etc… I’m also not even sure what bring your own water even looks like. And even if they are providing their own wastewater treatment, that requires an even closer look than hooking up to municipal sewage. It also requires at least occasional long term inspection because these kinds of systems fail at insanely high rates.
- malfist 2mo ago
  > BYO power Like 26 gas turbines that make a ton of noise and pollution? > BYO water What? How does one BYO water? > BYO pipes & sewage Pipes and sewage to where? There's an implied common ground at the end of those.
  - Cakez0r 2mo ago
    Yes It falls from the sky Septic tank
  - IG_Semmelweiss 2mo ago
    >>> Like 26 gas turbines that make a ton of noise and pollution? there's only noise pollution if there's anyone around. If there's anyone around, odds are land value is too expensive for a datacenter. As for pollution, that's already regulated. As is noise anyway. Lets not be pedantic. No one is protesting these due to pollution or noise. >>> What? How does one BYO water? Tankers. Like 95% of the world. Its a thing. This is actually the least likely to be an issue, since most datacenters run a closed loop water system anyway. >>> Pipes and sewage to where? There's an implied common ground at the end of those. Porta-potties for humans. Tanker disposal for the rest (to the extent you do have waste).

jleyank 2mo ago

Not surprising at all. There is paid for the locals when these things appear, but they don’t get anything back for that paid. Even if they’re computer literate and using ai, there’s no notice that this came from their local centre. Nor is there anything that’s unique to a particular location. People get annoyed at being inconvenienced so that others, elsewhere can make money.

yostrovs 2mo ago
Here in Michigan there are large industrial facilities that most locals have no idea what is done inside. There's noise, electric usage, trucks coming in and out, but most people think it's ok. Data centers are seen differently.
- logankeenan 2mo ago
  It’s different because those places typically provide jobs for the people in the surrounding area. Data centers don’t employ enough people to provide an economic benefit for the people that live near them.
- SirFatty 2mo ago
  "but most people think it's ok." How would you know what "most people" think? Broad generalizations and opinion stated as fact.
  - RajT88 2mo ago
    If you live in the area, it's easy to say that. There's no protests in the local parks. There's no shouting matches at city council meetings. I say this as a person living in a town where they are building a bunch of data centers, and nobody cares about the existing industrial areas which include factories and heavy industry. No protests, no shouting matches at city council meetings. None of that. Granted, those were built a long time ago.
    - SirFatty 2mo ago
      That's a few people, not most people.
      - RajT88 2mo ago
        Most people don't show up to the data center protests. Most people probably are probably not aware of planned industrial development in the rural north part of my town. Most people probably don't read enough local news to be aware. My general feeling. I haven't done a count, but gut feeling maybe 1% of homes and businesses in my town have "Say NO to Data Centers" signs.
- RajT88 2mo ago
  The tech industry has spent that last few decades fucking with people: addictive infinite scrolling sites, dark patterns, etc. Now the same assholes are saying their machines will eradicate the job market. And also will make their neighborhood noisy and their water and electric bills high. The industry has earned this pushback several times over. (I am generalizing but you get the idea from a layperson's perspective)
WarmWash 2mo ago
Usually the states give the incentives, the local towns usually get their tax revenue doubled or tripled, hence why these boards sprint to approval
- vharuck 2mo ago
  States may dangle the tax carrots, but localities could be the ones paying for road and utility improvements. The costs for that could be much less than projected gains in tax revenue, but that's a gamble. Not to mention being left with abandoned buildings. We didn't even need to have a bubble pop to see abandoned facilities. If one company goes out of business (normal in a healthy economy), there's little we can (and politicians are willing to) do to make sure defunct companies clean up any messes.
  - WarmWash 2mo ago
    From the few cases I have looked at, tax revenues for the towns is in the $30-40M/yr range. I cannot fathom what kind of road improvements a datacenter would need that wouldn't be easily offset. Or what demolition costs for a square box would be that would eclipse that, nevermind the value of the underlying land.

nmeofthestate 2mo ago

>It’s rare to see political attitudes change this fast On the contrary - these mass political crazes are like flash-floods these days.

mapping365 2mo ago
This is not your standard partisan issue. What the Unabomber, Steve Bannon’s tech guy, and Bernie Sanders taught me about the great data center backlash of 2026 - https://www.wired.com/story/how-data-centers-broke-american-politics/ https://www.wired.com/story/how-data-centers-broke-american-... Data center approvals in Texas halted until audits completed, Gov. Greg Abbott says - https://www.texastribune.org/2026/08/03/texas-data-center-project-audit-greg-abbott/ https://www.texastribune.org/2026/08/03/texas-data-center-pr... DeSantis lambastes White House over possibility of blocking state-level AI laws - https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/policy/technology/4605403/ron-desantis-white-house-state-ai-laws/ https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/policy/technology/4605403... New York becomes the first state to impose a data center moratorium - https://www.reuters.com/world/new-york-becomes-first-state-impose-data-center-moratorium-2026-07-14/ https://www.reuters.com/world/new-york-becomes-first-state-i... Libertarian Ohio governor candidate calls for ‘immediate moratorium’ on new data centers -https://www.cleveland.com/news/2026/08/ohio-governor-candidate-calls-for-immediate-moratorium-on-new-data-centers.html https://www.cleveland.com/news/2026/08/ohio-governor-candida... Oregonians want data center moratorium and no more tax breaks, poll finds - https://www.oregonlive.com/silicon-forest/2026/08/oregonians-want-data-center-moratorium-and-no-more-tax-breaks-poll-finds.html https://www.oregonlive.com/silicon-forest/2026/08/oregonians... Virginia state senators call for data center moratorium - https://www.nbcwashington.com/news/local/northern-virginia/virginia-state-senators-call-for-data-center-moratorium/4137267/ https://www.nbcwashington.com/news/local/northern-virginia/v... Tucker Carlson, Kevin O’Leary have testy exchange over Utah data center issues - https://www.businessinsider.com/tucker-carlson-kevin-oleary-clash-over-funding-ai-data-centers-2026-5 https://www.businessinsider.com/tucker-carlson-kevin-oleary-...
- SirFatty 2mo ago
  "Tucker Carlson, Kevin O’Leary" A real meeting of the minds.

IG_Semmelweiss 2mo ago

This could have been stopped so easily on its tracks with a simple premise: 1 day turnaround build permits, to any proposed off-the-grid data centers. BYO power. BYO water. BYO pipes & sewage. OK, you are good. Now build! Instead they are look like parasites invading the heartland and sucking resources (true or not), and owners pretend to be surprised when they are getting voted down.

sarchertech 2mo ago
> 1 day turnaround build permits, to any proposed off-the-grid data centers. Utility planning is one tiny part of approving a building permit. You still need to look at storm water runoff, fire safety, environmental impact etc… I’m also not even sure what bring your own water even looks like. And even if they are providing their own wastewater treatment, that requires an even closer look than hooking up to municipal sewage. It also requires at least occasional long term inspection because these kinds of systems fail at insanely high rates.
malfist 2mo ago
> BYO power Like 26 gas turbines that make a ton of noise and pollution? > BYO water What? How does one BYO water? > BYO pipes & sewage Pipes and sewage to where? There's an implied common ground at the end of those.
- Cakez0r 2mo ago
  Yes It falls from the sky Septic tank
- IG_Semmelweiss 2mo ago
  >>> Like 26 gas turbines that make a ton of noise and pollution? there's only noise pollution if there's anyone around. If there's anyone around, odds are land value is too expensive for a datacenter. As for pollution, that's already regulated. As is noise anyway. Lets not be pedantic. No one is protesting these due to pollution or noise. >>> What? How does one BYO water? Tankers. Like 95% of the world. Its a thing. This is actually the least likely to be an issue, since most datacenters run a closed loop water system anyway. >>> Pipes and sewage to where? There's an implied common ground at the end of those. Porta-potties for humans. Tanker disposal for the rest (to the extent you do have waste).