Voters back data centre curbs in at least 33 US communities

Voters in at least 33 US communities backed restrictions on data centres in the 3 November midterm elections, Capacity reported on 4 November. The local measures included bans, temporary pauses, energy-use limits and requirements for a public vote before construction. In places that approved them, decisions that developers had sought through planning and zoning processes will instead be constrained by rules adopted at the ballot box.

Trenton’s 25MW limit and Amazon’s campus

In Trenton, Ohio, 80% of voters supported a ban on data centres above 25MW, according to unofficial results reported by Capacity. The measure blocks the city’s plan to annex around 600 acres for a proposed 1,000MW Amazon data centre campus. Its reach stops at the city boundary: the AWS project could still proceed if the land remains in the surrounding townships. St Clair Township has moved to prohibit data centres through its own zoning rules.

Trenton was part of a wider Ohio vote. Eighteen municipalities put 21 data centre measures before residents, and at least 14 bans or other restrictions passed. In Grove City, 55% of voters approved a charter change requiring a public vote on large developments, including data centres that use more than 20MW of power or 500,000 gallons of water. Around 80% of Wilmington voters rejected rezoning for a data centre project across four referendums. Those votes operate differently from Trenton’s ban: Grove City adds a voter approval step, while Wilmington’s electorate rejected a proposed change to land use.

Other Ohio results included outright bans in Hubbard, Sunbury, Pataskala, Urbana, Defiance, Upper Sandusky, Piqua, Granville and Conneaut. Several results were still outstanding on the morning of 4 November, including a proposed ban in Oregon, Ohio. Capacity reported that, nationally, the tracker Data Centers on the Ballot identified only one local measure, in North Dakota, that went the way of construction supporters.

Grove City gives voters an approval right

Before polling day, a Bloomberg analysis of Ballotpedia data found more than 40 data centre-related measures scheduled for the election, Bloomberg reported. Some proposals addressed whether a facility could be built at all. Others sought taxes, a change in zoning or a larger role for residents in decisions that local officials would otherwise make.

Harwood, North Dakota, offered one example of the demand for a say in large projects. Resident Michael Swartz drafted a charter amendment called Article X after the city’s mayor signed a non-disclosure agreement with Applied Digital, which is building a facility nearby. Swartz said the amendment was intended to require disclosure, independent review and public participation for large projects. Residents had raised concerns about a 280-megawatt development after its plans became public in September 2025, and construction began less than a month later.

Industry advocates have a different account of what restrictions cost. Dan Diorio, executive vice president of state policy and government affairs at the Data Center Coalition, said the facilities could bring investment, jobs and tax revenue for schools, transport and public safety. He argued that bans would deny communities a chance to compete for those benefits. Megan Mullin, an environmental political scientist at the University of California at Los Angeles, warned that ballot measures could also constrain future local leaders and shift development towards places with fewer resources to organise opposition.

Local votes have limits beyond those political costs. In Boulder City, Nevada, activists opposed a proposed data centre on a city-owned tortoise preserve, but the developer subsequently won approval at a neighbouring site controlled by the federal Bureau of Land Management. Trenton’s city boundary poses a similar question for Amazon’s proposed campus. A municipality can change its own development rules without changing those of the land next door.

Data Center Watch counts $68 billion disrupted

Opposition had already affected projects before the November votes. Data Center Watch, a research project run by 10a Labs, counted at least 45 projects worth $68 billion disrupted by local opposition in the second quarter of 2026. A Quinnipiac poll in September found 72% of voters would oppose a new data centre in their community, up from 65% when the question was asked in March. Residents have raised concerns about electricity bills, air and noise pollution, tax incentives and the extent of public access to negotiations with developers.

The issue reached contests beyond local planning. An NBC News exit poll found that 56% of voters regarded AI and data centres as a crucial or major factor in their congressional vote, Capacity reported. In Texas, Democrat Gina Hinojosa defeated governor Greg Abbott after campaigning to pause new data centre projects until the state adopts tougher rules. Democrats also took control of both chambers of Congress.

States have pursued other ways to place conditions on expansion. Maryland ordered reviews of large data centres and sought to repeal a tax break. In Clarksville, Arkansas, voters will decide in December whether to approve $55 billion in bond ordinances for a ServerFarm data centre after residents challenged the city council’s approval.