New Mexico Voters Opposed New Data Centers

A state poll shows that 55 percent of residents back a ban on new data center developments in New Mexico.

Updated on Oct. 6, 2026 in Data Centers

Isometric editorial illustration of a large, monolithic concrete building situated in a vast, arid high-desert landscape. — A new poll from SurveyUSA indicates that 55 percent of New Mexico residents support a ban on the construction of new data centers in the state. AI Illustration. Upload story photo >

Live Poll

Should your local community place a ban on the construction of new data centers?

A SurveyUSA poll commissioned by KOB 4 found that 55 percent of 800 surveyed New Mexicans support banning new data center construction. Only 23 percent of respondents expressed support for building new facilities in the state.

Why it matters

Public resistance poses a challenge for infrastructure projects like the Oracle Project Jupiter proposal in southern New Mexico. This survey highlights the local skepticism that developers must address to advance large-scale computing sites.

Of the 800 respondents, 30 percent indicated they might change their stance if environmental assurances were provided, while 25 percent stated that no factors would shift their opposition to data center development.

The players

SurveyUSA

A public opinion research firm that uses automated polling methodologies to track voter sentiment on policy and corporate issues.

Oracle

A global enterprise software and cloud infrastructure provider currently pursuing the Project Jupiter data center proposal in southern New Mexico.

The details

The survey measured sentiment across the state to gauge the social acceptance of energy-intensive data storage and processing facilities. Data centers are large buildings that house high-density servers and networking hardware required to support cloud services and artificial intelligence. Local concerns often center on the significant water and electricity usage required to keep this server hardware within operating temperature limits.

October 6, 2026: Poll results were published.

The Tech Race

This polling data reflects a wider national trend where the physical infrastructure requirements of cloud computing face significant pushback from local communities. The results illustrate a potential hurdle for Oracle as it attempts to scale its data center footprint relative to competitors building in other regions.

The results of this survey could influence future land-use policy and permitting processes for large-scale technology facilities across New Mexico. Residents should monitor local planning board meetings to see if the expressed public sentiment leads to new restrictive zoning regulations for industrial projects.

The takeaway

The poll results suggest that without significant environmental concessions, major tech infrastructure projects will face intense public scrutiny in New Mexico. Watch for upcoming local legislative sessions for any formal attempts to turn these public sentiments into binding zoning ordinances.