Is this the only American city to vote “yes” to data centers?

On Election Day, voters approved more than 40 measures aimed at slowing or banning the growth of data centers. But not all Americans have spoken out against data centers.

The majority of voters in Harwood, North Dakota, said “no” to a ballot measure calling for additional measures when the city evaluates, approves and administers developments such as data centers, Tech Insider reported. In a town of 845 people, 430 voted and about 75 percent voted against adding restrictions. (As Tech Insider notes, however, the literature on small towns can be varied. Washington Post reports Harwood’s population as 845, while other media outlets report it as 940.)

The big project in question is a $3 billion, 1.8 million square foot data center just outside Harwood, the Washington Post reports. Data center developer Applied Digital is behind the project.

The vote caused Job claiming that Harwood is “the only city in the United States that has said yes to data centers.” Even though building a data center itself was not on the ballot, Harwood residents did in fact vote against additional bureaucracy facing them.

Harwood breaks the trend of what happened on Election Day, which Mashable’s Rebecca Ruiz said was a clear message: “The AI ​​count is here.” » Backlash against AI and data centers has increased in 2026, and voters were able to express their discontent last Tuesday. The list of US states banning data centers could grow in 2027.