Voters Overwhelmingly Reject Data Centers in Their Communities on Election Day
Voters backed bans, moratoriums and other limits in communities across 10 states as local opposition to data center growth widened.
- On Tuesday, voters across nine states approved measures to restrict or ban new data centers, with at least 29 jurisdictions passing these limits according to The Washington Post.
- Democrats leveraged voter frustration with Big Tech, running anti-data center campaigns in more than 130 federal and gubernatorial races citing growing concerns over electricity and water consumption.
- Ohio served as a focal point with 41 measures on ballots across 10 states, while in Texas, Democrat Gina Hinojosa defeated Republican Gov. Greg Abbott after campaigning for a moratorium.
- Goldman Sachs economists project these Democratic victories will likely trigger short-term moratoria, potentially affecting about 45% of planned US data center capacity expansion.
- Tech companies are attempting to rebrand data centers as 'compute campuses' with mixed results, Semafor's Ashley Gold reported, though potential moratoriums lasting over six months could delay projects not yet in construction.
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'We're not for sale': Americans want to pump brakes on data centers
"Democrat, Republican, that didn't matter," said Alisha Lange, a farmer from Piqua, Ohio. "People want their town back." She was one of the driving forces behind the grassroots group Save Piqua, which advocated for a ban on data centers with a capacity of more than 25 megawatts, effectively ruling out any large-scale project. The ban passed in a ballot measure on Tuesday and now jeopardizes the construction of a data center worth more than $1 bi…
SCIENCE & TECH: Voters reject data centers in nearly 50 ballot initiatives during midterms in major setback to AI bigwigs
Voters overwhelmingly rejected AI data centers on election night – dealing a major setback to Elon Musk and other tech bigwigs pushing a massive buildout. At least 50 ballot measures dealing with data centers — either allowing them or limiting them — were up for consideration in states around the country. Voters decided against centers in 47 cases, with the outcome of three votes still pending as of Wednesday afternoon, according to data compile…
Americans' dissatisfaction with the construction of data centers was reflected in the US elections - in at least 38 municipalities, voters supported bans or restrictions on the construction of such facilities
Americans' dissatisfaction with the construction of data centers was reflected in the US elections - in at least 38 municipalities, voters supported bans or restrictions on the construction of such facilities.According to The Washington Post, in...
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