Voters in 29 Communities Slam the Brakes on AI Data Centers

At least 29 American jurisdictions voted Tuesday to ban or restrict data-center development, The Washington Post reported. The measures ran the gamut, from outright prohibitions to new requirements for public approval before shovels hit dirt. Some were nonbinding advisory votes, so passage alone won't halt construction.

Ballotpedia counted 41 data-center measures on November 3 ballots across 10 states. Twenty-eight were worded so a yes vote curbed development, while 13 were framed to permit or support projects. Ohio delivered the sharpest message: all 10 charter measures pushed by the grassroots group Conserve Ohio passed, per the Post, and more than three-quarters of voters in Hubbard, Ohio, backed a data-center ban. Granville, Trenton and Sunbury approved restrictions by margins of roughly 78% to 82%.

The Midwest wasn't done. Nearly 80% of voters in Joliet Township, Illinois, rejected an advisory proposal supporting AI data centers. In Janesville, Wisconsin, more than 60% approved a requirement for another public vote before any major development at a former General Motors site tied to a proposed data center.

These campuses house the chips and servers that train and run AI systems, and their hunger for electricity has turned zoning meetings into referendums on utility bills and grid capacity. Opponents also flag water use, noise and deals cut without public scrutiny. The backlash is broad enough that it's now shaping races, not just ballots.

Politicians promising tougher oversight rode the wave. Democrat Gina Hinojosa defeated Republican Gov. Greg Abbott in Texas after campaigning for a moratorium on new projects, while Ohio governor-elect Amy Acton backs a pause and stricter rules. Industry leaders are pushing back: BlackRock CEO Larry Fink said last month that a broad moratorium could carry serious economic consequences, warning that if such a freeze happened in the US, the country would be in a recession.

AI companies see the mood shifting and are working to counter it. Some are ramping up lobbying, others are running public relations campaigns to reshape perception. OpenAI, for one, has tried to rebrand data centers as compute campuses, aiming to shed the negative baggage the facilities have picked up.