US voters sided against data centers almost everywhere they got a direct say on Tuesday. The Data Centers on the Ballot tracker published by State Capital Lobbyist lists 41 local measures in 10 states on the November 3 ballot. As of 12:15 p.m. ET on Wednesday, with results still unofficial, 38 had been called. Counting six measures decided earlier in 2026, 43 of 44 called outcomes went against data center development.
This matters because the AI build-out depends on land, power and local permits, and local governments control two of those. Cities that pass bans or caps on megawatts don't just block one project. They take whole towns off the map for hyperscale campuses. Tom's Hardware, citing a separate database, counts more than 300 local data center bans now on the books across the US.
The scoreboard
| Count | |
|---|---|
| Measures on the Nov 3 ballot (tracker) | 41, in 10 states |
| Called by Wednesday midday | 38 |
| Still pending | 3: Monroe Twp and Sprigg Twp, Ohio; Boulder City, Nevada |
| Called outcomes for 2026 overall, including 6 earlier votes | 44 |
| Outcomes that cut against data centers | 43 |
| Outcomes the tracker counts as favoring them | 1: Harwood, North Dakota |
Source: State Capital Lobbyist tracker. Tom's Hardware's own count, taken earlier in the night, came to 45 measures. A second tracker it cited put the number at about 46, so totals vary by who is counting and what counts as a measure.
The one exception is a technicality. Harwood voters rejected a measure that would have added an extra review process for industrial projects, including data centers, by 75% to 25%. The tracker scores that as the one outcome in development's favor.
Ohio was the epicenter
Ohio had 21 of the 41 measures on Tuesday's ballot, more than any other state. Where results were in, the margins were lopsided. All percentages below are from the tracker.
| Place | What was on the ballot | Result |
|---|---|---|
| Granville, OH | Prohibit data center construction | Passed, 82% yes |
| Trenton, OH | Prohibit large-scale data centers | Passed, 80% |
| Sunbury, OH | Prohibit data centers over 25 MW | Passed, 79% |
| Conneaut / Defiance, OH | Prohibit data centers over 25 MW | Both passed, 65% |
| Piqua, OH | Charter amendment banning construction | Passed, 67% |
| Grove City, OH | Require voter approval for large developments | Passed, 55% |
| Ashville, OH | Referendum on an EdgeConneX project deal | Rejected, 82% no |
| Wilmington, OH | Four rezonings for data center sites (65–191 acres) | All rejected, about 80% no |
| Monroeville, OH | Advisory: allow development | Rejected, 87% no |
The rest of the map
- Illinois: Seven advisory questions, and every one went against data centers. Joliet voters rejected approving AI data centers by 79% to 21%. Four Madison County townships said no to permitting them. Bloomington backed a moratorium with 78%.
- Kansas: El Dorado (71%), Emporia (60%) and Ottawa (69%) all passed bans. Ottawa's applies to sites over 25 MW, while El Dorado and Emporia target "high-impact" data centers.
- Maine: North Berwick banned data centers of 25,000 sq ft or more. Peru, Wells and Wiscasset passed moratoriums of about six months.
- Elsewhere: Alhambra, California, passed a ban with 82%. So did Edgewater, Florida, with 77%. Downe Township, New Jersey, rejected an advisory question supporting data centers by 87% to 13%. Janesville, Wisconsin, voted 63% to require voter approval for large projects at its former GM/JATCO site.
The backlash also reached candidates. 404 Media and Tom's Hardware both report that the mayor of Yukon, Oklahoma, lost a recall after backing a hyperscale project. Tom's Hardware also lists a recall of Piqua's mayor and two council members. 404 Media reports that anti-data-center candidates won mayoral races in Asheville, North Carolina, and San Marcos, Texas. It also says data center policy was a central issue in Texas's governor race. We haven't independently confirmed the statewide results, and many counts are still preliminary.
What it means for the AI build-out
Most of these votes are small-town decisions. On their own, they won't stop the gigawatt-scale campuses already permitted in other places. But together they show the pattern developers have to plan around. Voters passed most bans by wide margins, and bans written around a 25 MW cap rule out exactly the hyperscale facilities AI labs want. Tom's Hardware notes that the delays have pushed some labs toward smaller 20–30 MW sites. It also cites polling showing about 70% of Americans oppose AI data center build-outs. These figures come from Tom's Hardware's sources; we haven't seen the underlying polls.
What to watch
- Three uncalled races. Boulder City, Nevada, is still counting mail ballots on a measure to allow data centers in its Eldorado Valley land. Two Adams County, Ohio, township zoning votes also have no reported results yet.
- December 1, Clarksville, Arkansas. Voters decide on bonds for two projects. The tracker lists them as up to $50 billion for Hatchbo and up to $5 billion for SF ARK1.
- December 15, Mandan, North Dakota. Measure 1 would ban data centers drawing 25 MW or more.
- Investor reaction. Watch whether hyperscalers' next capex updates say anything about site selection or local opposition. These results give analysts a fresh reason to ask.
Sources
- State Capital Lobbyist — Data Centers on the Ballot: Where Things Stand statecapitallobbyist.com
- 404 Media — American Voters Overwhelmingly Reject AI Data Centers 404media.co
- Tom's Hardware — AI data centers comprehensively defeated at US midterm elections tomshardware.com
