America’s AI infrastructure boom met a remarkably loud “not in our backyard” on Election Day. Across the country, voters pushed back against data-center construction, with the strongest resistance emerging in Ohio, where local measures sought to ban, limit, or slow the facilities powering the next phase of the tech industry. The midterm results delivered a sweeping rebuke to data-center expansion.
Ohio became the symbolic center of the fight because residents in 18 municipalities faced 21 data-center-related ballot questions, more than any other state. Early results showed restrictions passing in at least 14 communities, while other tallies indicated that every measure opposing or limiting new facilities was on track to succeed. The proposals varied from outright bans to zoning changes, size limits, and requirements for additional public oversight. Fortune’s election coverage identified Ohio as home to more than half of the country’s local data-center measures this cycle.
The margins were often far wider than a typical local zoning dispute. Voters in Granville supported a charter amendment banning data centers larger than 25 megawatts by more than 82 percent, while Trenton approved a similar restriction by roughly 80 percent. Urbana backed its amendment with 77 percent of the vote, and Sunbury approved a measure with about 78 percent support. In Monroeville, nearly 88 percent voted against allowing data-center development within the village.
That opposition reflects concerns that extend well beyond server farms themselves. Large facilities can consume enormous amounts of electricity and water, raise questions about who pays for grid upgrades, and occupy substantial stretches of farmland or open space. Critics have also challenged the tax incentives used to attract projects, arguing that promised jobs and economic benefits may not justify the infrastructure costs borne by local residents. A recent Ohio poll found 55 percent opposed data-center construction in the state, compared with 22 percent in support, while 65 percent opposed tax breaks for such developments.
The Ohio votes could also shape a larger political battle over artificial intelligence. Developers and technology companies are racing to build the computing capacity needed for generative AI, cloud services, and advanced applications, but local governments control many of the zoning decisions that make those projects possible. In several Ohio communities, voters rejected proposals despite campaigns backed by developers and industry allies, suggesting that the backlash is not limited to one political party or one type of town.
For the industry, the results do not end the data-center buildout, but they make the path forward more complicated. Companies may need to offer stronger guarantees on power, water use, jobs, and tax revenue before projects receive approval. Ohio lawmakers are also facing pressure over a possible statewide constitutional amendment that would restrict large new data centers, potentially moving the fight from local ballot boxes to the state level. For now, the message from voters is clear: AI may be the future, but communities want a say in what that future costs.
