Politics
Poll: Wisconsin opposition to data centers continues to grow
A new Marquette Poll reveals that 78% of Wisconsin voters believe the costs of data centers outweigh the benefits, with growing support for a construction ban.
By Jon Styf · 2026-08-23T00:48:55.058Z
The Center Square – Data centers continue to become less popular in Wisconsin.
A new Marquette Poll shows that 78% of registered voters believe the costs of data centers outweigh the benefits, up from 76% in a July poll and 55% in October 2025.
“Majorities of Republicans, independents, and Democrats all say the costs outweigh the benefits of data centers. Opposition has increased among independents and Democrats since July, with only a slight decline in opposition among Republicans,” the poll said.
The survey was conducted Aug. 12 20, interviewing 891 Wisconsin registered voters with a margin of error of +/ 4 percentage points.
Registered voters also supported a one year ban on data center construction with 67% in favor and 33% opposed.
Democrats registered highest on the one year ban, with 83% in support while 53% of Republicans supporting the move.
Opposition to data centers in Wisconsin matches national opinions with 68% believing that communities should be able to limit data centers if they strain local resources while 22% believe that communities should accept those trade offs for the benefits of economic growth and the country’s technology future in a recently released The Center Square Voters’ Voice Poll https://www.thecentersquare.com/national/article da1ef7a8 1bdb 48eb 96b8 2768068ba741.html .
Those results came from a survey conducted by Noble Predictive Insights from Aug. 12 16.
This story originally appeared on thecentersquare.com https://www.thecentersquare.com/wisconsin/article ab3958ae 49ea 48b8 80d3 d73772f3e829.html .