Voters in 10 States Decide Tuesday Whether to Block the AI Data Center Buildout. Ohio Has 21 Measures on the Ballot, 80% of Ohioans Want a Moratorium, and Amazon's $2 Billion Campus Hangs on One Town's Vote
About This Episode
Reuters reported on October 29 that voters in 10 states will decide 41 local ballot measures on Election Day that would delay, prohibit or add requirements to data centers, with Ohio alone carrying 21 of them across more than a dozen jurisdictions. In Sunbury, Ohio, a measure banning data centers above 25 megawatts could derail Amazon's proposed $2 billion campus, and Amazon's public policy lead went on local TV to defend it. TIME reports a Bowling Green State University survey found nearly 80% of Ohioans support a moratorium, Ohio's average household electric bill rose about 15% in the past year, and Grove City voters will decide a charter amendment requiring voter approval for any development over 50 acres, 20 megawatts, or 500,000 gallons of water a day.
Our Take
For the first time the AI buildout is on a ballot by name, and the question is whether a vote that only wealthy, organized suburbs can win governs the buildout or just forwards it to the next town over.