Voters in seven states will decide 34 data center ballot measures in November, with more than half of them in Ohio, as the artificial intelligence building boom becomes a midterm election issue. The votes could shape where and how large computing facilities are built.
How many data center measures are on the November ballot?
Voters will decide 34 data center-related measures across California, Florida, Illinois, Kansas, Nevada, Ohio and Wisconsin. Ohio accounts for 20 of them across 17 jurisdictions, more than half the national total and more than any other state. Similar limits on development have been considered or imposed elsewhere, a sign of how quickly the facilities became a political flashpoint.
What do voters say about AI data centers?
A national poll found 71% of voters opposed building AI data centers in their local area, including 46% who strongly opposed them. Just over half, 52%, supported building them in remote locations, while 44% opposed. Overall, 60% held a negative view of AI and 37% a positive one, a 23-point gap that has more than doubled since July.
The poll also found a partisan split: voters with favorable views of AI leaned Republican, while those with unfavorable views leaned Democratic.
Where are officials already acting on data center projects?
In Texas, Republican Gov. Greg Abbott ordered a pause on new data center permits and grid connections pending a statewide audit of their effect on the power grid and water supplies. His Democratic challenger, Gina Hinojosa, has backed temporary moratoriums. In the Senate race, Republican Attorney General Ken Paxton and Democratic state Rep. James Talarico have clashed over industry tax breaks.
In Ohio, Democratic Senate challenger Sherrod Brown has attacked Republican Sen. Jon Husted over data center development. President Donald Trump, campaigning for Husted, defended the industry's economic potential, saying: "Look, there's so much money to be made for Ohio, you can't just turn them off."
