# Data center ban vote: 41 ballot measures in 10 states, from Ohio to Amazon's $2B site > On US election day, towns vote on bans, moratoriums and 25-megawatt power caps. Ohio has 21 measures, and one could block an Amazon project. - Publisher: NextDiff (https://nextdiff.com/) - Section: Policy - Author: NextDiff Editorial - Published: 2026-11-03T10:03:53.171Z - Updated: 2026-11-03T10:03:53.171Z - Canonical URL: https://nextdiff.com/posts/data-center-ban-vote-ballot-measures-election-day/ - Topics: data-centres, ai-regulation, amazon, electricity ## In short Voters in 38 US communities across 10 states decide at least 41 data center measures on 3 November 2026, Ballotpedia counts. 28 would restrict development through bans, moratoriums or 25-megawatt caps. Ohio has 21, including a Sunbury vote that could block a $2 billion Amazon data center. Rising power bills drive the backlash. ## Key takeaways - At least 41 local data center measures in 10 states are on the 3 November 2026 ballot; 28 would restrict development and 13 would ease it, according to Ballotpedia. - Ohio has 21 of them, including bans in 13 cities and power caps of 25 megawatts that rule out large AI campuses. - Sunbury, Ohio, votes on a 25 MW cap that could derail Amazon Web Services' planned $2 billion data center. - Analysts expect bans to move projects elsewhere rather than stop them, as electricity prices and grid waits rise. Until this year, communities fought data centers at zoning hearings. Today, 3 November 2026, they vote on them. In the US midterm elections, voters in 38 local jurisdictions across 10 states are deciding at least 41 data center measures, according to a [Ballotpedia count reported by Reuters](https://srnnews.com/ai-data-center-boom-faces-backlash-at-us-ballot-box/). Most of them are a **data center ban**, a moratorium or a power cap. Ohio alone has 21. ![Aerial view of data centers in Ashburn, Virginia](/media/e97b5b37978a4ae6a09b.jpg) *Image: Theodore Christopher / Wikimedia Commons (CC0). Ashburn, Virginia, is one of the largest data center clusters in the world.* ## What is on the ballot? Ballotpedia counts 41 local measures: 28 would restrict data center development and 13 would make it easier, [Tom's Guide reports](https://www.yahoo.com/news/us/articles/ai-data-centers-ballot-10-185841413.html). Other trackers count 35 to 39, because some towns vote on several questions and some measures are advisory. ![Chart of data center ballot measures by state](/media/891a596c7683454dae19.jpg) *Chart: NextDiff, from Ballotpedia's count as reported by Reuters and Tom's Guide.* [Forbes' list](https://www.yahoo.com/news/politics/articles/where-data-center-bans-ballot-132131127.html) of the restrictive ones: - **Ohio:** bans in 13 cities, including Conneaut, Defiance, Granville, Grove City, Hubbard, Oregon, Piqua, Sunbury, Trenton, Upper Sandusky and Urbana. Some ban only "high impact" sites or anything over 25 megawatts. Ashville votes on whether to block a data center that is already being built. - **Kansas:** El Dorado and Emporia vote on banning "high impact" data centers; Ottawa on banning "utility-intensive" ones over 25 MW. - **Maine:** 180-day moratoriums in Peru and Wells, a six-month pause in Wiscasset, and a ban on buildings over 25,000 square feet in North Berwick. - **Illinois:** a full moratorium in Bloomington, plus advisory questions in six other places. - **California and Florida:** Alhambra votes on a citywide ban; Edgewater on writing its council's September moratorium into the city charter. The rest are not bans. Janesville, Wisconsin, asks whether projects over $450 million at a former GM site need voter approval. Boulder City, Nevada, and Downe Township, New Jersey, vote on whether to allow or support data centers. ## Why are towns voting to ban data centers? Power, water and bills. Residential electricity prices have risen more than 10% nationally since 2024 and more than 20% in Ohio, Reuters reports. A June 2026 Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory report, cited by Tom's Guide, estimates data centers could use 11.8% of US electricity by 2030 (range 9.5% to 15.3%). PJM's independent market monitor names data centers as a main driver of higher capacity prices on the PJM grid, which includes Ohio, according to FactCheck.org. The opposition crosses party lines. "We all want the same thing," Jessica Baker of the group Conserve Ohio told Reuters; she said residents worry about electricity, water and health risks such as childhood asthma from on-site gas turbines. In polls cited by Forbes, 69% of Americans in an NBC survey in September said they would oppose a new data center in their community, and a Politico poll in October found 65% of Democratic and 36% of Republican voters opposed them. ## How does a 25-megawatt cap work? Many Ohio measures don't ban buildings; they ban size. A 25 MW cap still allows a mid-sized conventional data center but rules out the large AI campuses now being planned, which can need hundreds of megawatts. That is why the vote in **Sunbury**, near Columbus, matters to Amazon: its charter amendment would ban data centers over 25 MW, and Amazon Web Services plans a **$2 billion** data center in the city's new technology park. Organisers needed 174 signatures and handed in 450, and the council has already paused data center approvals until 31 January 2027. Amazon declined to tell Reuters whether the votes would change its plans. A spokesperson said the company wants to work with residents and that its commitment does not depend on any single vote. ![Amazon data center in Boardman, Oregon, with power lines](/media/4ea474fb709e4e569949.jpg) *Image: Visitor7 / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 3.0). Amazon's data center in Boardman, Oregon.* ## Does a data center ban stop the AI build-out? Probably not; it moves it. Developers would likely shift projects to other sites rather than abandon them, Baron Fung of Dell'Oro Group told Reuters, though they already face years-long waits for grid connections. US data center capacity under construction rose 48% from December 2025 to June 2026, according to Cushman & Wakefield. States are acting too. New York paused data centers by executive order in July, Texas paused permits in September pending an electricity audit, and Maine's governor vetoed a statewide moratorium in April, Forbes reports. California voters also decide **Prop 45**, a rewrite of the state's environmental review law: opponents say data center developers could use it to build faster, while its backers say data centers are not covered. The AI build-out is already squeezed by power and memory. Sam Altman recently said that the memory in your PC is "quite terrible" as chipmakers [ration supply toward AI servers](/posts/sam-altman-ram-comment-samsung-memory-shortage/). A wave of local bans would add a third constraint: places to plug in. ![Official absentee ballot drop box marked VOTE in Madison, Wisconsin](/media/43d61496acbf4b999faf.jpg) *Image: WORT News / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY 2.0).* ## What happens next? Results come in tonight US time (Wednesday morning in India). Earlier local votes this year mostly favoured restrictions, Ballotpedia reports; Forbes notes that Monterey Park, California, approved a moratorium in June. If most of the 28 restrictive measures pass, expect more petitions in 2027 and more pressure on states to set siting and power-price rules. Watch Sunbury first: it is the clearest test of whether a town can say no to a hyperscaler. We will update this story with results. ## Questions readers ask ### Where are data center bans on the ballot? Ballotpedia counts 41 local measures in 10 states on 3 November 2026: Ohio (21), Illinois (7), Maine (4), Kansas (3) and one each in California, Florida, Nevada, New Jersey, North Dakota and Wisconsin. ### Why do people want to ban data centers? Opponents cite electricity demand and higher power bills, water use, noise and health concerns. Reuters reports residential electricity prices rose more than 10% nationally since 2024 and more than 20% in Ohio. ### What is the Sunbury, Ohio data center vote? Sunbury voters decide a charter amendment banning data centers that use more than 25 megawatts. It could derail Amazon Web Services' planned $2 billion data center in the city's technology park. ### Will data center bans stop AI data centers being built? Probably not. Analysts such as Dell'Oro Group's Baron Fung expect developers to move projects to other sites rather than cancel them, though grid connection waits are already long. ### When will the data center ballot results be known? Local results are counted on election night, 3 November 2026 US time, which is Wednesday morning in India. Some close local races may take longer. ## Sources - [Reuters (via SRN News) — AI data center boom faces backlash at US ballot box](https://srnnews.com/ai-data-center-boom-faces-backlash-at-us-ballot-box/) - [Ballotpedia — Data center-related ballot measures, 2026](https://ballotpedia.org/Data_center-related_ballot_measures,_2026) - [Forbes — Here's where data center bans are on the ballot (full list)](https://www.yahoo.com/news/politics/articles/where-data-center-bans-ballot-132131127.html) - [Tom's Guide — AI data centers are on the ballot in 10 states](https://www.yahoo.com/news/us/articles/ai-data-centers-ballot-10-185841413.html) - [CW Columbus — Sunbury petition seeks ballot measure limiting data centers to 25 megawatts](https://cwcolumbus.com/news/local/sunbury-petition-seeks-november-ballot-measure-limiting-data-centers-to-25-megawatts) - [WOSU — Sunbury City Council passes moratorium on data centers](https://www.wosu.org/politics-government/2026-04-16/sunbury-city-council-passes-moratorium-on-data-centers) - [CalMatters — Prop 45 could open door for California data centers](https://calmatters.org/economy/technology/2026/10/prop-45-could-open-door-for-california-data-centers/)