The wave of ballot initiatives saw 41 measures across 11 states, with Ohio accounting for 21 measures in 18 jurisdictions. In Ohio, towns including Upper Sandusky, Conneaut, Trenton, Pataskala, and Piqua voted to add data center bans to their town charters. The towns of Oregon and Sunbury limited their bans to hyperscalers, preserving smaller enterprise facilities. In Monroeville, voters rejected a nonbinding referral to give officials leeway to pursue potential data center developments that comply with zoning regulations.
In Florida, Edgewater voters approved a charter amendment prohibiting the approval, construction, expansion, or operation of new data centers, building on an earlier city council vote to permanently ban data centers and related facilities, despite no data centers currently operating or under development there.
California’s Alhambra voted to join Monterey Park in banning data centers citywide, a measure promoted by resident Amy J. Wong, who told the Pasadena Star News that she and others campaigned “across the region to pass anti-data center bans similar to Monterey Park's.” The measure builds on a June city ordinance, though the Pasadena Star News reported that the city had no current data center applications.
In Kansas, El Dorado approved a citizen petition prohibiting high-impact data centers and certain energy storage for a decade, with the stated purpose of protecting residents’ health, safety, and welfare. Emporia voters passed a similar ban, meaning developers will almost certainly have to scrap already announced plans for a hyperscale facility. In Ottawa, residents approved a measure prohibiting construction of any data center using more than 25 megawatts; residents had already lobbied to cancel a proposed project in the city, according to KSHB.
Illinois saw Bloomington voters pass a ballot initiative advising the city council to impose a moratorium on building large-scale data centers, giving it the ability to effectively extend the current moratorium indefinitely. In Joliet, 79% of voters said no to a referral asking them whether to advise the council to “approve the construction of AI data centers.”
Nationwide, NBC exit polls reported that artificial intelligence and data centers were a "crucial or a major factor" for 56 percent of voters. While the measures were mostly limited to small towns, Reason noted that the success of anti-artificial intelligence politicians at the federal level on Tuesday could extend the backlash to Washington.