N.J. voters still don’t want to pump their own gas, FDU poll finds

For all the changes in New Jersey politics over the last decade, one issue remains remarkably constant: voters still don’t want to pump their own gas.

A new Fairleigh Dickinson University poll found that 64% of registered voters support keeping New Jersey’s law requiring gas stations to provide full-service, while just 24% favor allowing self-service pumps.  Another 12% said they were unsure or declined to answer. The numbers are virtually unchanged from an FDU poll conducted in 2012, when support stood at 63% and opposition at 23%.

New Jersey remains the only state in the nation where motorists are prohibited from pumping their own gasoline after Oregon ended the practice in 2023.  (Self-service is still illegal in Huntington, New York.)

“At a time when everything seems unstable, it’s good to know that there are some things that just don’t change,” said FDU poll director Dan Cassino.  “New Jersey voters have never wanted to pump their own gas, and they still don’t want to pump their own gas.”

Support for full-service spans the political spectrum, although Democrats are the strongest backers.  The poll found that 71% of Democrats support keeping the current law, compared with 62% of Republicans and 58% of independents.  Opposition is highest among Republicans, with 29% favoring self-service, compared with 28% of independents and 19% of Democrats.

Cassino said those partisan differences appear to be driven less by ideology than by demographics.

Democrats are more supportive of the current system than Republicans, he said, “but this seems to be driven largely by sex and age, rather than any direct effect of political views.”

The survey also found a substantial gender gap.

Nearly three-quarters of women (74%) want to preserve the full-service requirement, while 56% of men agree. Men are more than twice as likely as women to favor self-service, 33% to 15%.

“In the past, full-service gas has been seen as a safety measure for women,” Cassino said. “But the gap between men and women could also just be men saying that they like doing things with their cars.”

Contrary to expectations, younger voters are the most enthusiastic supporters of keeping attendants at the pumps.  The poll found 68% of voters under age 30 support the current law, compared with 66% of voters ages 31 to 44, 64% of those ages 45 to 64, and 61% of seniors. Opposition ranges from 21% among the youngest voters to 26% among those 65 and older.

The survey was conducted between June 23 and 30 with a sample size of 1,211 registered New Jersey voters using text-to-web interviews. The margin of error is +/- 3%.