The American Energy Alliance (AEA) today released the results of a series of surveys that examined the sentiments of likely voters about tax credits for electric vehicles. The surveys were administered to 800 likely voters statewide in each of nine states, all considered important to 2020 election cycle (Missouri, Pennsylvania, Iowa, Kentucky, Georgia, South Carolina, North Carolina, Colorado and Ohio). The margin of error for the results in each state is 3.5%.

The findings include:

  • Voters don’t think they should pay for other people’s car purchases. In every state, overwhelming majorities (typically three-quarters of respondents) said that while electric cars might be a good choice for some, those purchases should not be paid for by other consumers;
  • Voter's sentiments about paying for others' electric vehicles are especially sharp when they learn that those who purchase electric vehicles are, for the most, wealthy and/or from California; 
  • There is almost no willingness to pay for electric vehicle car purchases. When asked how much individuals would be willing to pay each year to support the purchase of electric vehicles by other consumers, the most popular answer in each state (usually more than two-thirds of respondents) was “nothing”, and; 
  • One-in-five) trust the federal government to make decisions about what kinds of cars should be subsidized or mandated.

You can read the results of each state here.