Voters across multiple states reject datacenter development measures in Tuesday elections
Ballot initiatives to limit or ban new data centers were approved in most jurisdictions, reflecting broad opposition to large-scale facilities.
Voters in at least 40 jurisdictions across 10 states rejected proposals to allow new data centers, approving bans or temporary moratoriums in the majority of cases on Tuesday. In Ohio, 14 municipalities, including Sunbury where Amazon had planned a $2 million project, voted to restrict data-center development. Maine saw eight municipalities adopt temporary moratoriums, and Emporia, Kansas, approved a ban on high-impact facilities after a 1,000-acre gigawatt-scale project was proposed.
The only notable defeat of a restriction measure occurred in Hardwood, North Dakota, where residents voted against a proposed ban. Elsewhere, candidates who oppose data-center expansion won office. Democrat Gina Hinojosa, elected governor of Texas, pledged to impose moratoriums and increase community input on data-center projects. New governors Keisha Lance Bottoms in Georgia and Amy Acton in Ohio also promised similar restrictions.
Anti-data-center sentiment has become a bipartisan issue, with Florida Governor Ron DeSantis signing strict regulations earlier this year.
"Data centers in space looking pretty appealing right now," Elon Musk wrote on X.
Analyst Dan Ives said the election results signal a slowdown in data-center construction and warned that Democratic control of the Senate could create legislative hurdles for AI and tech policy. He expressed particular concern about Hinojosa, describing her as a "known anti-data-center politician," and noted that Texas accounts for 25-30% of the nation’s data-center gigawatt capacity.