Data Center Ballot Measures Pass by Wide Margins in Dozens of Communities

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Written by John Egan for IIR News Intelligence (Sugar Land, Texas)

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Summary

In last week's elections, voters in small and rural communities adopted dozens of local proposals to pause, limit or ban construction of data centers.

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Voters Turn Against Data Centers in Local Elections

On November 3, voters in 40 local jurisdictions across 10 states turned decisively against data centers, voting to either pause, impede or ban them by 3-to-1 or 4-to-1 margins, according to data tracked by the ballot-tracking website Ballotpedia.

The local results are best read as strong, place-specific NIMBY ("Not in My Backyard") resistance in communities where the issue was salient enough to reach the ballot, typically in smaller and rural communities.

In a comparatively small handful of local communities, voters backed data center bans, moratoria, size limits or extra review requirements. But there were no state-wide or national data center measures on the November 3 ballot.

Ohio alone had 21 data center measures, all of which went against data centers. In addition, seven Illinois communities also voted against data center measures. Small or rural communities in California, Florida, Kansas, Maine, Nevada, New Jersey and Wisconsin also voted against data center-related measures on Election Day, Ballotpedia said.

Earlier this year, the vote-tracking website said voters opposed data center measures in six small communities in New Hampshire, Wisconsin, Michigan and California. Later this year, voters will decide the fate of data center initiatives in three small communities in Arkansas and North Dakota, Ballotpedia said.

Only one of those local measures passed: In Harwood, North Dakota, voters rejected a proposal that would require additional review before the city could approve of future industrial developments, including data centers.

Although data center measures appeared on ballots for federal, state and local offices, the results do not appear to signal a generalized, national turn against the data centers many see as key to dominating 21st century economic and national security strength.

In an NBC voter exit poll, voters said four issues--government corruption, cost of living, the war in Iran and immigration enforcement--were the most important issues for them. Approximately 56% said artificial intelligence (AI) and data centers were a crucial or major factor in their vote for Congress.

By the Numbers

• 41: Number of initiatives relating to data centers that went before the voters in small and rural communities in 10 states November 3. Voters in nearly all cases opposed data centers.
• 6: Number of local initiatives in four states opposing or limiting data centers that were voted on before November 3.
• 3: Number of voter initiatives relating to data centers in Arkansas and North Dakota that will be voted on in December.

Data Centers Likely to Continue Moving Forward

The scope and scale of U.S. data center construction plans is unprecedented. For more on that, see September 22, 2026, article - As Data Center Construction Plans Soar, U.S. Electric Utilities Race to Serve Once-in-a-Lifetime Load Growth.

Despite votes against data centers in small and rural communities in a number of states, voters surveyed in a national exit poll from NBC, and a national pre-Election Day poll from Fox News, agreed that other issues, among them government corruption, high prices, the war in Iran and immigration enforcement, were far more important to voters across the country.

That said, Big Tech companies and data center developers will have to work with a very different Congress and a number of new governors. On a national level, Democrats flipped at least seven seats in the U.S. Senate and at least 41 in the House of Representatives, with about two dozen races still undecided. But both houses will have Democratic majorities when the next congressional term begins in January.

Although a few newly elected senators strongly oppose data centers, they will be the most junior members in that chamber when they take their oath of office in two months. Junior members of the U.S. Senate typically do not have the ability to push their measures through that body absent broad support from their party, or from the other party.

Election Day also brought a new crop of Democratic governors to office, and some of them opposed data centers. Voters elected new governors in Texas, Georgia and Ohio, states where the previous executives had been enthusiastic supporters of data centers. Those three states accounted for about 173 gigawatts (GW) of data center capacity, roughly 39% of the data center pipeline, according to an analysis by Industrial Info Resources.

That said, the outlook for data center construction is not black and white. For example, of the 173 GW of planned data center capacity in Texas, Georgia and Ohio, 14.2 GW already is under construction. And no state, aside from New York, has instituted a pause on data center construction.

Will the newly elected governors of those three states follow through on their campaign promises to oppose data center construction? If so, executive orders won't be forthcoming until next January at the earliest. Legislation will take even longer. In either case, litigation may commence.

In several states, voters cast their ballots for candidates vying to be members of the state public utility commission, which regulate utilities. Early indications are that several data center skeptics were elected. That would buttress an existing national move among utility regulators that data centers pay their own way when it comes to new electric generation and infrastructure, or they bring their own generation (BYOG), insulating homeowners and businesses from data center electric costs.

In addition, some wholesale markets, such as PJM, have considered or adopted rules requiring data centers to either bring their own generation or completely protect homeowners and businesses from the costs to power the data centers.

Future for Data Centers Already Taking Shape

The early reading of the tea leaves suggest that Big Tech firms and data center developers need to continue efforts to win over local communities, regulators and elected officials. Secrecy is out and transparency is in. Big tax breaks appear to be a thing of the past. Clearly, the public wants to be more informed about plans to construct data centers in their area.

Some developers and utilities already have pivoted from secrecy to open engagement. Meta Platforms Incorporated has won kudos for pairing data center development with community benefit funds in Utah and Louisiana. For more on that, see September 11, 2026, article - Data Centers: Some U.S. Developers Seek to Build Bridges and Bring Down Walls and July 20, 2026, article - Data Centers Face 'Arc of Outrage,' But Consultant Has a Plan.

Also, Alliant Energy Incorporated, which operates electric and gas utilities in Iowa and Wisconsin, has a community investment requirement for data centers and large energy loads. For more on that, see November 5, 2026, article - Data Centers Drive Up Capital Spending Plans at Alliant.

Key Takeaways

• Voters in 40 small rural and local communities enacted measures to ban or limit data center construction in their communities on Election Day.
• Only one community, in North Dakota, passed a pro-data center measure November 3.
• Voters also elected new governors and U.S. Senators who ran against data centers, across the country.
• Despite these results, data centers appear poised to continue moving forward across the country, perhaps at a slower pace.

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About Industrial Info Resources
Industrial Info Resources (IIR) is the leading provider of industrial market intelligence. Since 1983, IIR has provided comprehensive research, news, and analysis on the industrial process, manufacturing, and energy-related industries. IIR's Global Market Intelligence (GMI) helps companies identify and pursue trends across multiple markets with access to real, qualified, and verified plant and project opportunities. Across the world, Industrial Info Resources is tracking over 250,000 current and future projects worth $30.2 trillion (USD).