On November 3, voters in 10 states decided local ballot questions on data centers, the large computer buildings behind AI. Redbud Consulting’s unofficial tracker shows the side that limits data centers won 44 of the 45 questions with complete counts on November 9. Trenton, Ohio, voted 80% to 20% to ban data centers above 25 megawatts of power. Janesville, Wisconsin, voted 63% to require a public vote on any project over $450 million at a former General Motors plant, where an $8 billion data center had been proposed. In Harwood, North Dakota, 76% rejected a rule requiring independent review of large industrial projects, the only win for data centers.
Democrats flipped the governor’s office in Texas, Ohio and Georgia, and Scripps News reports all three winners campaigned to pause or limit data centers. Texas governor-elect Gina Hinojosa, who won 57% to 41% (unofficial), promises to pause new data center approvals until lawmakers end tax breaks and protect household utility bills. Jefferies analysts estimate about 13 gigawatts of Texas projects (power for over 10 million homes) face immediate risk. Ars Technica reports analysts expect the local measures to mostly hit projects planned for 2028, not those approved through 2027.
Chamber of Progress, a tech trade group, says Democratic governor candidates who opposed data center bans won at higher rates, so the results show “little evidence of a voter mandate to crack down on AI or data centers.” NBC’s exit poll found 3 in 4 voters opposed a new local data center.
Read More: AI This Week: Agents That Remember, AI in the Lab, Votes on Data Centers, which gives the tracker’s 44 of 45 count and a 13 gigawatt Texas estimate in two sentences
Sources:
- Data Centers on the Ballot: 2026 Results (Redbud Consulting)
- Voters Approve Data Center Restrictions at the Ballot Box (Venable)
- Voters elected governors to curb data centers (Scripps News)
- 13 GW At Immediate Risk As Texas Data Center Developers Face New Power Struggle (Bisnow)
- Big Tech claims voters’ AI backlash is “anti-Trump” not “anti-tech” (Ars Technica)
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Citation
@misc{kabui2026,
author = {{Kabui, Charles}},
title = {Data {Center} {Ballot} {Measures:} {Voters} {Chose} {Limits}
in 44 of 45 {Counted} {Local} {Votes}},
date = {2026-11-11},
url = {https://toknow.ai/posts/data-center-ballot-measures-2026-election-voters-ai/},
langid = {en-GB}
}