Voter support for offshore oil drilling remains as strong as it was during last year’s presidential election, but many also continue to believe individual states should be able to stop it off their own coastlines.

A new Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey finds that 68% of U.S. voters believe offshore oil drilling should be allowed. Just 20% oppose drilling for oil off the coast of the United States, with another 12% undecided.

These numbers are virtually unchanged from findings just after Election Day in November 2008.

Republicans and voters not affiliated with either major party favor offshore drilling much more than Democrats.

But far more dramatic is the divide between Mainstream voters and the Political Class, voters who tend to trust political leaders more than the public at large and are far less skeptical about government. While 76% of Mainstream voters support offshore drilling, 70% of the Political Class are opposed to it.

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Sixty percent (60%) of all voters say oil drilling should be allowed within 50 miles of the U.S. coastline. Of that number, 26% say drilling is okay just 12 miles out. Twelve percent (12%) favor drilling 100 miles off the shore, while 14% say it should be done more than 100 miles out.

GOP voters and those who are unaffiliated are much more likely than Democrats to favor drilling within 12 miles of the coast.

However, 48% of voters nationwide say individual states should have the right to ban drilling off their own coastlines. Thirty-four percent (34%) disagree and say states should not have this right. Seventeen percent (17%) aren’t sure.

Fifty-four percent (54%) of unaffiliateds and the plurality (48%) of Democrats say states should have the power to stop drilling off their own coasts. Republicans are more closely divided on the question.

Sixty percent (60%) of voters think it is at least somewhat likely that gas and oil prices will go down if the United States allows offshore oil drilling, including 33% who say it’s very likely. Thirty-one percent (31%) say it’s not very or not at all likely that offshore drilling will cause gas and oil prices to decline.

Yet most voters like the idea of developing alternative energy sources, too. Sixty-five percent (65%) favor tax incentives to help develop solar power, wind power and new conservation programs. Still, that’s down 12 points from September 2008. Twenty-six percent (26%) oppose tax incentives for these purposes.

Democrats are more strongly in favor of tax breaks for the development of alternative energy sources than are Republicans or unaffiliated voters. The Political Class, while strongly opposed to offshore drilling, is overwhelmingly supportive of promoting alternative energies.

Forty-four percent (44%) of all voters see a conflict between economic growth and environmental protection, a view that’s been fairly consistent for months. Thirty-one percent (31%) do not see this conflict, and another 25% are undecided.

Seventy-five percent (75%) say it’s more important for the country to find new sources of energy than to require automakers to produce more fuel-efficient cars.

Just 15% of voters think development of new energy sources should be President Obama’s top priority. Cutting the federal deficit in half by the end of his first term as president is the priority voters have consistently listed first all year.

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