NEW POLLING: Voters Across Party Lines Support Permitting Reform
As Congress debates how to fix America’s broken permitting processes, Inclusive Abundance today released new polling from Blue Rose Research (n=~20,000 likely 2026 voters, May 13–23) showing strong, cross-partisan support for making it faster and easier to build energy infrastructure.
Top findings include:
- 60% of voters support permitting reform, and by a 62% to 21% margin, including half of Trump voters, they believe the president should not have unilateral authority to cancel projects that have cleared the government review process.
- 83% of voters are concerned about household electricity costs and 79% say their bills have risen over the past two years, with blame falling primarily on politicians who favor specific energy technologies over the most economical options and monopoly utilities that prioritize profits over consumers.
- 68% of voters support an all-of-the-above energy approach when explained, though 44% have never heard the phrase.
- Affordability is the most persuasive argument for energy infrastructure reform (winning 66% of matchups), followed by energy independence (59%).
- A majority of voters (55%) oppose building a data center in their community, and the concerns driving that opposition are electricity costs and grid reliability. But companies that commit to lowering household bills, preventing rate increases, and funding grid upgrades have a path to earning more support.
Read the full memo from Blue Rose Research below:
To: Inclusive Abundance
From: Blue Rose Research
Date: June 16, 2026
Re: NEW POLLING: Energy Research
Over May 13 to May 23, Blue Rose Research conducted several national surveys on behalf of the Inclusive Abundance Initiative to understand voters’ attitudes towards energy bills and infrastructure.
Key Findings:
Electricity costs are a top concern for an overwhelming majority of voters. 83% of voters say they are concerned about their household electricity costs, with almost half (47%) saying they are very concerned.
- More than three-quarters of voters (79%) say that their household electricity costs have increased over the past two years.
Voters primarily attribute high utility prices to politicians who favor specific energy technologies over the most economical options and to monopoly electric utility companies that prioritize profits over consumers. In randomized head-to-head matchups, voters assign responsibility for rising electricity prices to these groups in 55% of matchups.
Electricity prices have been rising across the country. Which of the following groups or people do you think is more responsible? | Overall |
Politicians favoring their preferred energy technology instead of allowing the most economical choice to be made | 1 |
Electric utility companies that have monopoly power and prioritize profits over consumers | 2 |
Overall economic forces and rising costs across the entire economy — not any single group or decision | 3 |
Government not investing enough in new power plants, transmission lines, or updating our aging power grid | 4 |
Oil and gas companies that keep prices high to maximize their profits | 5 |
Large technology companies building massive data centers that consume huge amounts of electricity | 6 |
Politicians who block new energy projects through red tape and regulations | 7 |
Foreign countries and global events that disrupt energy markets | 8 |
Environmental groups that delay or block energy projects | 9 |
Over two-thirds of voters (68%) support an "all-of-the-above" energy approach to ensure electricity remains affordable and reliable. Support spans across the political spectrum, including over two-thirds of Harris voters (68%), swing voters (71%), and Trump voters (71%).
A majority of voters (60%) support a permitting reform plan to make building energy infrastructure faster and easier. This includes 51% of Harris voters, 63% of swing voters, and 71% of Trump voters.
- Additionally, voters strongly support permitting certainty over presidential discretion. By a 62% to 21% margin, voters believe that once an energy project has cleared the government review process, the president should not have unilateral authority to cancel approved projects. This includes half (50%) of Trump voters.
Voters view affordability as the most persuasive argument when it comes to energy infrastructure reform. When asked which arguments would make them more likely to support Congressional proposals to make building energy infrastructure faster and easier, voters selected the affordability argument at the highest rate (chosen in 66% of matchups).
- Following affordability, voters selected American energy independence as the next most persuasive argument (chosen in 59% of matchups).
Congress is proposing to make it faster and easier to build the energy infrastructure America needs – things like power plants, power lines, and grid updates. Which of these arguments would make you more likely to support such a policy? | Overall |
Affordability: This policy lowers electricity bills for families | 1 |
Energy independence: This policy makes America energy independent and less reliant on foreign energy | 2 |
Corporate accountability: This policy will make sure monopoly utilities have less control over your electric bills | 3 |
Jobs: This policy creates construction and manufacturing jobs | 4 |
Clean energy: This policy builds clean energy faster to lower pollution | 5 |
Grid reliability: This policy prevents blackouts and power outages | 6 |
National security: This policy protects the grid from foreign attacks | 7 |
Bipartisan: This policy is supported by members of both the Republican and Democratic parties | 8 |
Geopolitical: This policy will help us stay ahead of China in energy production | 9 |
AI/Innovation: This policy powers the AI revolution | 10 |
Data centers are broadly unpopular, with a majority of voters (55%) opposing building a data center in their community. Less than a quarter (24%) of voters support doing so.
- Concerns are driven primarily by perceived impacts on energy affordability. When asked what their biggest concern about data centers being built in their community is, voters most frequently selected higher household electricity costs as a top concern (chosen in 57% of matchups), followed by strain on local power grids and the risk of blackouts (chosen in 54% of matchups) and environmental impacts (chosen in 53% of matchups).
Which of the following is your biggest concern about data centers being built in your community? | Overall |
They drive up electricity costs for households like mine | 1 |
They strain the local power grid and cause more blackouts | 2 |
Their environmental impact, including emissions and pollution | 3 |
They concentrate too much power in the hands of big tech companies | 4 |
They take up land that could be used for housing or other community needs | 5 |
They don't create enough local jobs for the amount of resources they use | 6 |
They accelerate AI development, which I have concerns about | 7 |
They bring noise, traffic, or other quality-of-life problems | 8 |
They use too much water | 9 |
Voters are most receptive to data centers when companies directly address concerns about electricity costs and grid reliability. The most compelling commitments to voters are those that lower household electricity bills (chosen in 59% of matchups), prevent rate increases (chosen in 57% of matchups), and fund grid upgrades that benefit residents (chosen in 56% of matchups).
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