US voters backed measures to restrict data centers in Tuesday’s midterm elections. According to Data Centers on the 2026 Ballot, a report by Redbud Consulting, 38 of the 39 nationwide referendums fully counted so far enacted new restrictions on potential data center projects.
Redbud Consulting founder and CEO Alex Lundry said the side seeking restrictions received about 77 percent of the vote in most of those contests. A Gallup survey published Monday found that 70 percent of Americans do not want data centers near where they live.
The only measure that has not passed so far was in Harwood, North Dakota. It would have imposed additional requirements on certain development or building projects in the city, but the ballot language did not use the words “data center.”
