The AI data center boom lost at the ballot box. Of 41 local ballot measures in 10 states that would restrict data center construction, voters sided against data centers in every one except Harwood, North Dakota, according to Ballotpedia and results gathered by CNBC.
Ohio accounted for 21 of the measures. Voters in at least 14 Ohio municipalities passed bans or other restrictions, Fortune reports. Sunbury appears to have approved a ban on data centers using 25 megawatts or more, aimed at a possible Amazon hyperscale project, and a Trenton ban passed 80% to 20%.
The issue reached the top of the ticket too: Democrat Sherrod Brown ousted Republican Sen. Jon Husted after casting him as «the face of data centers,» CNBC reports. Fortune notes that companies plan to invest up to $40 billion in AI infrastructure in Ohio by 2030, according to state data.
