Midterm Rout for Data Centers: Voters in Nearly 40 Towns Rejected Projects

Voters across nearly 40 local ballot measures overwhelmingly rejected or restricted data centre projects, making the midterms a test of how much say communities want over the rapid expansion of AI infrastructure. The result matters because residents linked the facilities to rising electricity costs and environmental harms, and activists framed the opposition as part of a longer fight for environmental justice.

Measures were voted on in 10 states; Harwood, North Dakota, was the only reported win for the technology industry, while 77 per cent of voters overall rejected data centre development. In Joliet, Illinois, nearly 80 per cent backed restrictions. More than half of the measures began as citizen initiatives, and a poll found that over half of midterm voters considered AI and data centres a major or crucial factor in their vote.