US Voters Reject AI Data Centers in Midterm Votes
US voters rejected AI data centers in about 40 midterm ballot measures, backing bans and limits over power, water and bills. What it means for AI growth.
US voters delivered a clear message to the tech industry in the November 3 midterm elections: they do not want AI data centers built in their communities. Opponents of the huge computing facilities won virtually every local ballot measure on the issue, according to preliminary results reported on November 4.
A near-clean sweep against data centers
More than 40 local votes on data centers were held across 10 states, and data centers came out ahead in just one of them. In Ohio, the state with the most measures at almost 20, opponents won every race, whether the question was a ban, a size limit or a change to zoning rules. Seven municipalities passed measures to permanently ban new data centers, while ten others voted to limit the facilities to a certain size or electrical footprint. Other communities approved moratoriums, which are short-term bans that pause new projects while local rules are reviewed. The one exception was Harwood, North Dakota, where voters rejected an amendment that would have required an independent review and a public hearing before large industrial projects, including data centers, could go ahead. That result left an already approved project in place rather than blocking a new one.
Where voters said no
The results were striking in individual towns and cities. In Defiance, Ohio, voters passed a measure by 63 percent to 37 percent that blocks new data centers needing more than 25 megawatts of electricity. In Edgewater, Florida, 77 percent of voters approved a ban on new data centers within city limits. In Alhambra, California, just outside Los Angeles, preliminary results showed 82 percent of voters backing a ban on data centers throughout the city. In Emporia, Kansas, voters passed a ban on "high impact data centers" with just over 60 percent of the vote. The measure defines those facilities as ones needing more than 10 megawatts of peak power or more than 100,000 gallons of water a day. Moratoriums also passed in Bloomington, Illinois, and in Peru and Wiscasset in Maine. In Wilmington, Ohio, about eight in ten voters rejected a rezoning measure that would have cleared the way for a new data center.
Why residents pushed back
Voters raised three main worries: water use, power bills and a lack of transparency. Data centers need large amounts of electricity and water to run and cool their servers, and residents feared those costs would land on local households. Many people also said deals between local governments and tech companies were signed behind closed doors, with little public say. Some of the ballot measures were advisory, meaning they do not legally bind local officials, but the scale of the wins still sends a strong political signal. Polls before the election pointed the same way. A Reuters and Ipsos survey in June found that just 14 percent of Americans would support a data center being built near them. Exit polls cited by NBC found that 56 percent of voters described AI and data centers as a crucial or major factor in their vote.
What this means for the AI buildout
The results add a new obstacle to the rapid expansion of AI infrastructure in the US. Tech companies have been racing to build data centers to train and run AI models, and the November votes show that local opposition is now organized, widespread and winning at the ballot box. Analysts and campaigners expect the results to slow some projects and push companies to offer stronger protections on energy, water and local costs before they build. More votes are expected next month in Arkansas and North Dakota, and Ohio campaigners are working toward a possible statewide vote next year on banning new data center construction. For now, the midterm message is hard to miss: communities want a say in where AI infrastructure goes, and they are using the ballot box to get it.
Sources
• Route Fifty - https://www.route-fifty.com/artificial-intelligence/2026/11/voters-reject-data-centers-local-ballot-initiatives/417033/ • Gizmodo - https://gizmodo.com/voters-turn-election-night-into-a-bloodbath-for-ai-data-centers-2000834821