Conserve Ohio Puts Data Center Bans on 10 Local Ballots
Updated
Updated · POLITICO · Oct 30
Conserve Ohio Puts Data Center Bans on 10 Local Ballots
3 articles · Updated · POLITICO · Oct 30
Summary
Ten Ohio communities will vote next month on charter amendments banning hyperscale data centers after Conserve Ohio helped qualify the measures for local ballots.
Conserve Ohio is being driven by an unusual bipartisan alliance: Republican Nick Owens, 42, and left-leaning independent Austin Baurichter, 33, who united around opposition to data centers and Big Tech.
The ballot push spans mostly small towns across the state that share little beyond distrust of large data-center projects, turning local resistance into a coordinated statewide campaign.
The effort shows data-center development in Ohio is becoming a local political flashpoint, with communities seeking to block projects before they are built.
Why are Ohio towns racing to put hyperscale data center limits on ballots, and what could that mean for future AI infrastructure?
Can local voters slow Ohio’s data center boom without losing jobs, investment, and grid upgrades promised by major projects?
As more Ohio communities push back on hyperscale facilities, who should decide where digital infrastructure gets built—the market, regulators, or residents?