In brief
- At least 29 US jurisdictions backed bans or restrictions on data centers in Tuesday's elections.
- Ohio approved multiple prohibitions, while voters in Illinois and Wisconsin rejected projects or demanded more public oversight.
- Not every measure is binding, but wins by candidates favoring moratoriums could bring tougher statewide rules.
Voters in at least 29 U.S. jurisdictions backed bans or restrictions on data-center development Tuesday, according to The Washington Post, dealing a new setback to the massive infrastructure buildout behind artificial intelligence.
The measures ranged from outright prohibitions to requirements for additional public approval. Some were nonbinding advisory votes, meaning their passage does not automatically stop construction.
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Ballotpedia tracked 41 data-center measures on November 3 ballots across 10 states. Twenty-eight were framed so that a yes vote would curb development, while 13 would permit or support projects, meaning rejecting one of the latter could also count as a defeat for developers.
Ohio leads the backlash
Ohio produced some of the clearest results. All 10 charter measures backed by the grassroots group Conserve Ohio passed, according to the Post, and more than three-quarters of voters in Hubbard, Ohio, supported a ban on data centers.
The negative sentiment is so big that voters in Granville, Trenton, and Sunbury backed restrictions with margins of roughly 78% to 82%.
In Illinois, nearly 80% of voters in Joliet Township rejected an advisory proposal supporting AI data centers. In Janesville, Wisconsin, more than 60% approved a requirement for another public vote before major development at a former General Motors site linked to a proposed data center.
These facilities house the chips and servers used to train and run AI systems. Their appetite for electricity has turned proposed campuses into local fights over utility bills and grid capacity, while opponents also raise concerns about water use, noise and deals struck without public scrutiny.
AI companies are aware of the growing backlash and are already working to counter it. Some are stepping up lobbying efforts, while others are turning to public relations campaigns to reshape public perception. OpenAI, for instance, has sought to rebrand data centers as “compute campuses,” in an effort to distance the facilities from the negative connotations increasingly associated with them.
The votes arrived alongside victories by politicians promising tougher oversight of data centers. Democrat Gina Hinojosa defeated Republican Gov. Greg Abbott in Texas after campaigning for a moratorium on new projects, while Ohio's governor-elect Amy Acton also supports a pause and stricter rules.
Industry leaders have warned that blanket restrictions would put U.S. AI investment at risk. BlackRock CEO Larry Fink said last month that a broad moratorium could have serious economic consequences. “If we have a moratorium of some sort in this country, we will be in a recession,” he said.
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