Poll: Local governments should be cautious about data center approvals

By Jon Styf
The Center Square

American voters say local governments should be cautious about new data centers because they can place strain on electricity, water, land and local infrastructure, according to a new poll.

The Center Square Voters’ Voice Poll found that 62% of voters say local governments should be cautious while 24% think they should encourage new data centers because they create jobs, tax revenue and support America’s digital economy.

Another 14% said that they are not sure.

The results come from a poll conducted by Noble Predictive Insights from June 1-4, which surveyed registered voters nationally via an opt-in online panel and text-to-web cell phone messages. The sample included 2,585 respondents comprised of 915 Republicans, 1,013 Democrats, and 297 True Independents (Independents who, when asked if they leaned toward one of the major parties, chose neither). The margin of error is +/- 1.93%.

The results remained similar across age groups, political party affiliation and region in which those polled live.

Mike Noble, founder of Noble Predictive Insights, said that even though artificial intelligence and data centers are essential parts of the digital economy, it is clear that voters think that the negatives of having data centers nearby outweigh the benefits. Local governments are struggling with the issue, Noble said.

“I think AI/data centers did a really crappy job telling their story,” Noble said.

The poll did not ask about the tax incentives involved in data centers, from sales tax breaks on construction supplies and servers to electricity and property taxes. Such incentives have been significant across the country.

A recent Marquette Law School poll showed that 69% of voters believe the costs of data centers are greater and 30% believe that the benefits are higher.

A Good Jobs First report showed that 14 states and scores of local governments fail to properly disclose how much revenue they are losing to data center tax breaks while a deeper look at just three states showed that they are losing more than $1 billion per year to data center tax breaks.

“I’m sure there’s some jobs that are created when you have to put the shovel in the ground to build it, but once it’s built, how many people do you have to have to actually maintain it?” Noble said. “Unlike other jobs that are created where you have a 1,000-person head count at like a factory. Voters aren’t dumb.”

The poll showed that 58% of Republicans think local governments should be cautious while 27% believed data centers should be encouraged. Of Democrats, 65% said use caution while 64% of independents responded the same.