Election Day is November 3, which is just three weeks away, and we’re looking at how data center pushback has become a major midterm talking point. Early voting has already begun in many states.
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Voters in seven states including Ohio, Illinois, Wisconsin, Kansas, California, Nevada, and Florida will decide on 35 data center-related local ballot measures on Election Day.
Most of the measures qualified for the ballot through citizen-initiated petition processes, while a small percent were referred by local governing bodies, according to reporting from Ballotpedia.org. They include everything from complete prohibitions to temporary moratoriums along with zoning and rezoning decisions and advisory votes.
Ohio leads the country with voters deciding on 21 measures across 18 jurisdictions related to AI data centers this November. Examples include a charter amendment in Urbana to ban facilities drawing over 7.5 megawatts, a 25-megawatt ban in Trenton, and a referendum in Ashville.
Source: Ohio Capital Journal
Here’s a state-by-state look.
To see specific measures in your state, go here.
California
Alhambra (Measure DB, November 3). The city referred a measure asking voters to prohibit data centers within city limits. A “yes” vote adopts the ban.
Monterey Park (Measure NDC, decided June 2). Voters amended the city’s land use element to prohibit data centers. It passed with about 88% of the vote.
Florida
Edgewater (November 3). A charter-style amendment would prohibit new data centers from being approved, constructed, expanded, or operated in the city.
Kansas
El Dorado. An initiative would prohibit construction of “high impact data centers” and certain larger battery energy storage systems (Type 2 and Type 3).
A Tier 2 BESS is defined as a battery energy storage system with an aggregate energy capacity between 81 and 600 kWh, and a Tier 3 BESS is a battery energy storage system with an aggregate energy capacity greater than 600 kWh.
Emporia. An initiative would prohibit high impact data centers in the city.
Ottawa. An initiative would prohibit data centers using more than 25 megawatts of power.
Ottawa’s city commission sat on a citizen petition led by a community group called Ottawa United, so residents took it to court and won. In September, a judge ordered the question onto the November ballot. It’s not over: a court still has to rule on whether the ordinance is legally eligible, so even a win at the polls could end up back in front of a judge.
Nevada
Boulder City (Question 1, November 3). A city-referred measure would allow data centers within the Eldorado Valley Transfer Area. This is a pro-development question, so a “yes” vote opens the area up. A separate citizen initiative to require voter approval for large data center agreements on city land failed to qualify.
Ohio
Outright bans. Granville, Hubbard, Piqua, Upper Sandusky, and Urbana would each prohibit data center construction. Piqua and Upper Sandusky do it by charter amendment. Pataskala (Issue as listed) and Trenton (Issue 17) would prohibit “large-scale” data centers.
Threshold bans at 25 megawatts. Conneaut (Issue 10), Defiance, Oregon, and Sunbury would prohibit data centers with aggregate demand or peak load above 25 megawatts. Smaller facilities would still be allowed.
Voter approval requirements. Grove City (Issue 28) would require voter approval for developments, expansions, or property transfers involving at least 50 contiguous acres, more than 20 megawatts of peak demand, or more than 500,000 gallons of water a day.
Tax incentive conditions. Perry (Issue 16) would require hyperscale developers seeking special tax incentives to provide financial guarantees, a different approach that regulates the deal rather than the building.
Zoning regulations. Monroe and Sprigg (both in Adams County) have initiatives to establish zoning regulations in unincorporated areas.
Pro-development or upholding past decisions. Monroeville has an advisory measure asking officials to allow data center development within village limits. Ashville asks voters to uphold a term summary guiding negotiations between the village and EdgeConneX over two data center projects.
Wilmington has four referendums asking voters to uphold rezonings from rural residential to light industrial. A “no” vote on a referendum overturns the rezoning.
Illinois
Illinois has seven measures that are all advisory. “Advisory” means the vote is non-binding. In Bloomington, the advisory measure asks, “Should the City implement a moratorium on the creation of any large-scale data centers?” whereas in Joliet, the measure asks, “Should the Joliet City Council approve construction of AI data centers?”
Governor JB Pritzker said in September that he won’t pursue a moratorium on new data centers in the state, arguing that he would rather see lawmakers pass tough regulations on the facilities after the November election.
Wisconsin
Janesville (November 3). An initiative would require voter approval before the city may lease, sell, transfer, or approve development of the GM/JATCO site if total project costs exceed $450 million.
Also on the Ballot
Georgia’s Public Service Commission (PSC) is the five-member board, who decides how much Georgia Power can charge for electricity. Control of the commission is up for grabs on November 3.
The PSC regulates privately owned utilities in Georgia, including Georgia Power. So, when Georgia Power wants to raise rates, build a new power plant or pass along costs like fuel and storm repairs, the PSC is the commission that approves it.
The PSC approved six rate increases since 2022 that have raised the average residential bill by about $43 a month, or more than $500 a year.
In December 2025, the commission approved Georgia Power’s plan to build nearly 10,000 megawatts of new power generation, about $16 billion worth, and about 80 percent of that is expected to serve data centers.
Find out more about who is running here.
Michigan’s governor’s race pits Democratic Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson against Republican U.S. Rep. John James to succeed term-limited Gov. Gretchen Whitmer. At a recent Grand Rapids debate, data centers were one of the sharpest points of conflict, alongside gas prices, taxes, and education.
Both candidates said they support ending nondisclosure agreements (NDAs) on data center projects, a rare point of overlap.
Benson has run ads in favor of a data center moratorium and says she would end rate hikes driven by profit and invest in clean energy infrastructure.
James prefers local-control, safeguards-first approach rather than a statewide moratorium. His line at the debate was that a governor should be “a facilitator, not a dictator,” with no new data centers until there’s a plan to protect communities, led by locals. He later said a moratorium should be on “Lansing, not the people.”
I’ve had more than 400 reports from Michigan about data centers with the most reports coming from Marshall and Saline counties.
The Saline Township development is expected to require about 1.4 gigawatts of electricity. It moved forward after a legal dispute between the developer and township ended in a consent judgment. Community members have raised concerns about farmland, noise, water use, electricity costs, and environmental impacts.
Data Centers Mentioned in Campaign Ads
Many candidates are using data centers as a central talking point in their campaigns.
Estimates say that more than 700 political campaigns ran ads mentioning data centers with most of them calling for more regulation. They call out the same issues that residents are reporting to me, such as issues with noise, energy consumption, water usage, and other community impacts.
Glen Sturtevant for Virginia Senate
Rob Sand for Iowa Governor
Justin J. Pearson for U.S. Congress in Tennessee
Another Type of AI Data Center Is Possible
Watch this video with Channing Blackwell, a senior engineer with the Blackwell Grp. He says he can design data centers that live underground, cost less, don’t need to draw energy from the electric grid, and require zero community water. Now, we’re talking…
Voting is just one lever when it comes to pushing back on AI data centers that don’t disclose their water and utility usage, drain local resources, and cause disruption in communities.
Many of the decisions that shape a project happen well before a ballot, and many are open to public input. If there’s a citizen-led group near you, join them! If you want to start a group, connect with your friends and neighbors, and get going. Thinking of running for office in the future? Check out this guide.
really interested to see how all of these turn out. data centers don’t fit the normal tribal lines we’re used to seeing at the polls.
It's all so wreckless. We the People need our say! Thank you Erin.