Voters Back Data Center Limits in 39 of 45 Ballot Measures

Americans didn't just grumble about the data center boom — they voted it down. Data centers faced 45 ballot measures across 10 states on Tuesday, and as of early Wednesday, 33 restrictions had passed with another six projected to win, according to tracking site Data Centers on the Ballot. That's a lopsided rebuke for an industry that has spent years expanding with little local pushback.

Just one municipality bucked the trend. The City of Harwood in North Dakota rejected an amendment that would have forced local officials to hold public hearings before greenlighting large industrial projects, including 100-megawatt data centers. Five other localities still haven't posted their voting data.

The restrictions that did pass came in many flavors: outright bans, temporary moratoriums, caps on energy use, and requirements that elected officials win public approval before a project can move forward.

Ohio delivered the loudest message. The state hosts 257 data centers, and voters weighed in on 20 measures there — every single one has either won or is projected to win. In Urbana and Hubbard, where outright bans were on the ballot, the margins weren't close: 76 percent and 77 percent backed keeping the facilities out, respectively.

The backlash bled into races up and down the ballot. Democrat Sherrod Brown built his US Senate campaign around opposition to data centers, branding his opponent, Senator Jon Husted, the 'face of data centers' and the 'reason' more than 200 of them sit in the state. The Associated Press called the race for Brown on Tuesday night. A separate NBC exit poll found 56 percent of voters said AI and data centers were a 'crucial or major factor' in their vote for Congress.