Voters Said No in 40 of 41 Data Centre Votes

Local ballots, not federal policy, have become the binding constraint on AI build-out in the United States.

Across the US midterms, 41 data-centre measures went to voters in 10 states and 40 went against development, according to Ballotpedia: all 17 direct construction bans passed, and all seven pro-development advisory ballots failed. The lone exception was Harwood, North Dakota, where voters rejected an added-review requirement rather than a ban. Ohio alone had 21 measures and Nebraska nine. Separately, 34 of 36 newly elected governors support at least one form of regulation. OpenAI published a community compact on 5 November, pledging to cover power and infrastructure costs, disclose build and water data, and stop asking officials to sign non-disclosure agreements.