U.S. voters roundly rejected data centers almost everywhere they appeared on the ballot Tuesday, a rebuke that is sure to rattle investors already growing nervous about the development of AI. Residents in more than 30 localities across nine states voted in favor of moratoriums, outright bans and other measures, some in direct response to specific projects underway. Edgewater, Florida, voted overwhelmingly to include a data center ban in the city charter, and voters in Perry, Ohio, passed a measure imposing financial and operational constraints on hyperscalers seeking tax breaks. Democrats running in more than 130 federal and gubernatorial elections ran anti-technology or anti-data center ads this cycle, an analysis showed. The pressure has pushed some Republican candidates, including Texas Gov. Greg Abbott, a proponent of AI just months ago, to promise tougher regulations; he lost anyway.
Banks and asset managers financing the project have already begun to view local opposition as a credit risk, while hyperscalers are rushing to hire community liaisons. Meanwhile, tech companies bracing for the change in mood are trying to rebrand data centers as “computing campuses,” with mixed results, Semafor’s Ashley Gold reported.
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