Voters in dozens of US counties and cities will soon have the chance to advance policies that could slow data center development.
From Nevada to Georgia, local governments are giving residents the opportunity to vote on measures that would tax, regulate, or even ban artificial intelligence infrastructure. This could put hundreds of billions of dollars in investment at risk and create complications for so-called hyperscalers like Meta Platforms (META.US) as well as developers such as Applied Digital (APLD.US).
According to Ballotpedia data, more than 40 data center-related measures will go to a vote during the November 3 midterm elections.
As voters consider these proposals, opposition to new data centers is mounting across the United States, underscoring that AI has become a key issue in the midterms. A September Quinnipiac poll found that 72% of voters would oppose a new data center in their community, up from 65% in a March poll.
While data centers power ubiquitous AI tools like ChatGPT or Claude, residents who learn a data center is coming to their neighborhood often worry about air and noise pollution as well as higher utility bills. They are also concerned that local officials are offering tax incentives to developers and signing nondisclosure agreements with private interests, leaving voters in the dark.
Data Center Ballot Measures Have Varied Goals
In some cases, activists have already succeeded in blocking data center construction. According to a Data Center Watch report, at least 45 projects worth $68 billion were stalled in the second quarter due to local opposition.
Now, AI-related referendums are giving voters a new way to express opposition. Megan Mullin, an environmental politics scholar at UCLA, said: "At a time when people feel helpless about some of the broader forces shaping our future, local ballot measures are a tool people can use."
Bans and Recalls
Some measures even threaten to ban data centers outright. That could happen in Alhambra, a Los Angeles suburb, which may follow in the footsteps of neighboring Monterey Park.
In Ohio, about a dozen communities will vote on bans, with most measures targeting large facilities.
At Least $100 Billion in Data Center Investment Projects Will Go to Local Votes
Piqua is one of them, where Meta is trying to build a data center. Local voters will also decide whether to recall the mayor and two city council members who support building AI infrastructure in the city of about 20,000 people.
Another recall effort is taking place in Yukon, Oklahoma, where residents will decide the fate of Mayor Brian Pillmore. Some voters want him to resign because he supports a proposed $1 billion Beltline Energy data center along Route 66.
Pillmore said he welcomes communication on local development matters, but he believes the project is a rare source of long-term investment for the small city, estimating it could increase local revenue by as much as 75%.
He said: "A city like Yukon has to consider every card it can play."
Yukon is one of many small towns in the United States seeking economic growth. Dan Diorio, executive vice president for state policy and government affairs at the Data Center Coalition, an industry advocacy group, said data centers may be the answer, bringing investment and well-paying jobs that do not require a college degree.
Diorio said these facilities generate "substantial" tax revenue that helps fund schools, transportation, and public safety. "Ballot measures that restrict or ban data center development would send a signal that the region is not open for business," and would "deprive local communities of the opportunity to compete for investment and jobs."
Community Engagement
Some communities are not necessarily opposed to data centers, but they do want a greater say in the planning process. In Harwood, North Dakota, after news emerged that a $3 billion project was moving forward, resident Michael Swartz was prompted to try to overhaul how the city handles industrial development.
After the mayor of Harwood signed a nondisclosure agreement with Applied Digital, which is building a facility nearby, he drafted a charter amendment to push for a more transparent decision-making process with more community input. When plans for the 280-megawatt project were made public in September 2025, residents raised numerous concerns, but construction began less than a month later.
Swartz said in an interview: "A $3 billion decision landing in a community of only 800 people should not be settled in just three weeks."
His measure, known as "Article 10," aims to require information disclosure, independent review, and public participation for major projects. Similar measures could give residents in other areas greater influence.
Voters in Grove City, Ohio, could amend the charter to require referendums on development projects that exceed certain thresholds for size, water use, and energy use. If passed, a referendum initiative in Janesville, Wisconsin, would give citizens the right to vote on projects costing more than $450 million on a long-abandoned General Motors site.
Mullin of UCLA said the surge in such measures "shows that Americans recognize that in many communities that have a real impact on their future, they have been left out of negotiations."
Zoning Rules
Another category of measures has the power to restrict where data centers can be located. In Wilmington, Ohio, voters will decide on rezoning land around a proposed Amazon (AMZN.US) data center.
However, the situation in Boulder City, Nevada, shows the limitations of such initiatives. Earlier this year, activists successfully blocked a proposed $3 billion data center on a city-owned tortoise preserve. But soon afterward, developers won approval on an adjacent parcel controlled by the federal Bureau of Land Management.
Although Boulder City residents will soon decide whether to allow data center construction on the preserve, the episode highlights one limitation of this referendum wave: voters can rewrite local development rules, but legislation cannot cross jurisdictional boundaries.
Mullin said local restrictions may simply shift development to areas with weaker political power and fewer organizing resources. She added: "Moreover, for better or worse, such measures will tie the hands of future leadership in these places."
Still, efforts to restrict development through referendums will continue beyond November 3. In December, voters in Clarksville, Arkansas, will decide whether to approve a $55 billion bond ordinance for a ServerFarm data center. Residents had previously successfully challenged the city council's approval decision.
And last month, residents in Coweta County, Georgia, submitted a petition with more than 14,000 signatures demanding the reversal of approval for a sprawling $17 billion campus and a ban on future data center construction in the area. After awaiting a judge's ruling, the referendum could appear on the ballot in January next year.
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