Voters Reject Most Data Center Ballot Measures as Texas Elects Democrat Who Vowed Moratorium
Photo: ReasonVoters in communities across 10 states rejected data center projects in most of the 41 local ballot measures decided on Tuesday's midterm election day, according to tallies by Data Centers on the Ballot. The measures were in California, Florida, Illinois, Kansas, Maine, Nevada, New Jersey, North Dakota, Ohio and Wisconsin, with most in Ohio. At least 33 localities voted to keep data centers out, at least six voted to ban construction and halt planned facilities, and one measure in Harwood, North Dakota, went the industry's way. In Texas, CBS News projected that Democrat Gina Hinojosa beat Republican Gov. Greg Abbott by seven points after promising an immediate moratorium on new data centers. She would be the first Democrat elected governor there since Ann Richards in 1990. Elon Musk posted on X that data centers in space looked appealing. An NBC News poll found 3 percent of voters named AI data centers the top issue, but exit polls showed a majority called them crucial or a major factor in their vote.
Right-leaning outlets frame the vote around Democratic policy and its costs. The Daily Caller leads with Hinojosa's Texas win, Texas's share of planned capacity and a developer-industry voice, Stuart Turley, who predicts Democrats would shut facilities down, raise energy prices and let China win. The Daily Wire leads with Musk's post, lists Democratic moratorium proposals from Sanders, Ocasio-Cortez, Pallone, Khanna and Gov. Hochul, and quotes Trump and Speaker Johnson on China. Neither gives the ballot tallies. The left-leaning New Republic leads with those tallies, stresses Ohio and AI firms' spending there, and says the nation loathes the projects. Its headline says all 10 states voted to ban them, though its text counts 33 of 41 measures. Both sides tie the election to Democrats' opposition to data centers. Alternative outlets differ: Reason argues it was a data center election but notes Democrats who advertised on it did worse.
How the sides differ Right sources stress Democratic moratorium pushes, Texas and China competition; left sources stress local ballot tallies and AI industry money; alternative sources debate how much data centers drove results.
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