Bottom line
Tuesday turned community and political risk into the variable that decides whether a data center site moves forward. Where local voters had a direct say, the side limiting data centers won 39 of 40 measures with results, at a median 77% of the vote. Governors who campaigned on a pause won in Texas, Georgia, Ohio and New Mexico, and Georgia's utility regulator shifts to a new majority in January.
For developers and the capital behind them, the job now is to re-underwrite every pipeline market against this new map: which approvals still clear, on what timeline, and at what cost. Markets with stable leadership, clear rules and community support are about to become more valuable.
All results are unofficial as of the morning of November 4, 2026, and several races remain uncalled.
Local ballot measures: the community verdict
Ballotpedia counted 41 data center measures on November 3 ballots across 10 states, 21 of them in Ohio. Of the 40 with results by Wednesday morning, the limiting side led or won in 39, across roughly 235,000 votes.
Three findings stand out for site selection:
- Party did not predict the outcome. The correlation between partisan lean and results was 0.02. The limiting side won 26 of 27 places in counties President Trump carried by a majority.
- Spending did not move the outcome. In Oregon, Ohio, Vantage and unions spent $335,000 against a 25 MW cap, versus $4,600 from its backers. The cap passed 61-39. Build American AI spent at least $2.54 million on Ohio TV.
- Projects already in motion are exposed. Ashville, Ohio voters repealed the term summary guiding talks with EdgeConneX by 82%, though construction continues and its planned 800 MW gas plant still needs state approval.
| Place | Measure | Result |
|---|---|---|
| Trenton, OH | Ban on data centers above 25 MW in city limits | Passed, 80% |
| Wilmington, OH | Four rezonings covering about 546 acres | Rejected, about 80% |
| Joliet, IL | Advisory vote on data centers | 79% against (nonbinding) |
| Oregon, OH | 25 MW cap; Vantage's ~$1B, 214-acre proposal exceeds it | Passed, 61% |
| Grove City, OH | Public vote required for projects over 50 acres, 20 MW or 500,000 gal/day of water | Passed, 55% |
| Harwood, ND | Extra review for large industrial projects | Rejected 325-105; Applied Digital's Polaris Forge 2 proceeds |
Harwood is the single exception, and it involved a project already under construction. NBC's exit poll found 76% of voters oppose a data center in their own community.
State-by-state read
The biggest shifts land in the three largest growth markets: Texas, Georgia and Ohio. Each now has an incoming governor who backed a pause, but legislatures, regulators and veto math will decide how far policy moves.
| State | What changed | What still constrains it | Read for site risk |
|---|---|---|---|
| Texas | Gina Hinojosa (D) won 53-46; wants an immediate moratorium and a special session. Abbott's existing permit freeze has no end date. | Senate stays 19-12 Republican; repealing the $3.2B sales tax exemption needs legislation. | Highest exposure. About 27% of planned U.S. data center GW and 474 GW of ERCOT large-load requests sit here. |
| Georgia | Keisha Lance Bottoms (D) won by about 9 points; wants a temporary statewide pause. PSC moves to a 3-2 Democratic majority in January. | Republicans keep the Senate; about 20 data center bills died in 2026. | Rising. The new PSC majority may revisit Georgia Power's ~10 GW expansion approved in December 2025. |
| Ohio | Amy Acton (D) won; backs a conditional moratorium tied to full utility cost recovery, union labor and clawbacks. | Republicans hold both chambers but lost the House veto-proof supermajority. | Rising. Lame-duck moves before January 11 and a proposed 2027 amendment banning sites over 25 MW (polling at 57%). |
| New Mexico | Deb Haaland (D) promised a Day 1 order pausing new large-scale data centers. | She has said she cannot stop Project Jupiter, already under way. | Rising for new projects; Jupiter's air permit decision is due November 23. |
| Pennsylvania | Democrats projected to take the Senate 26-24 and widen their House majority. | Gov. Shapiro already removed data centers from fast-track permitting in August. | Moderate. Expect cost-allocation legislation more than bans. |
| Arizona | Gov. Katie Hobbs rejected a moratorium; proposes ending the state tax exemption. | Corporation Commission stays at least 3-2 Republican. | Relatively stable. Incentive economics change; approvals path stays predictable. |
| Nevada, Iowa | Democrats flipped both governorships; Nevada's winner wants data centers to pay for the demand they add. | Policy details still forming. | Watch for cost-causation rules. |
| New York, Oregon | Existing pauses continue: New York above 50 MW for one year; Oregon's permit freeze runs to July 1, 2027. | Already in place before Tuesday. | Unchanged, constrained. |
Nationwide, 26 candidates in 21 of 36 governor's races backed some form of moratorium. Virginia had no governor's race this cycle; in Loudoun County, the winning state Senate candidate took 69%, a 21-point swing.
Federal picture
The federal shift points to oversight and cost allocation rather than a construction stop. Democrats won both chambers, with at least 258 House seats and seven Senate pickups. Reporting from Reuters indicates a federal law stalling construction is unlikely, while hearings are likely, and the President retains the veto.
The bill most likely to move is the bipartisan Senate measure introduced September 30. It would make computing loads pay embedded and incremental transmission costs and require financial assurances from loads over 20 MW. Hyperscaler-backed buyer groups have endorsed it, which makes "pay your own way" the emerging national baseline.
Markets are already pricing the change. Needham described the post-election environment as "hostile" for new builds, and Franklin Templeton expects a slowdown in construction with new rules and costs.
Calendar: what to watch
The window between now and January 19 carries the most risk, with lame-duck sessions, permit deadlines and four new governors arriving within weeks of each other. Closer in, watch Guilford County, NC's 180-day moratorium vote (November 5), Clarksville, AR's bond referendums (December 1) and Mandan, ND's 25 MW ban vote (December 15).
What this means for deal teams and developers
The winners over the next 18 months will be the teams that know, county by county, what approval will take before they commit capital.
- Re-screen the pipeline at the county level. Tuesday's results varied township by township within the same state. A state-level view hides that.
- Treat community sentiment as a hard input. With the limiting side winning across red and blue counties alike, sentiment belongs alongside power and water in the underwriting model.
- Map who decides, not just what the rules say. Utility commissions, siting boards and county commissions now carry as much weight as statehouses. Georgia's PSC and Ohio's Power Siting Board are the clearest examples.
- Price in cost-causation. Paying full transmission and generation costs is becoming the baseline in Washington and in several states. Projects that model it now will negotiate from strength.
- Build community value into the plan early. Outspending opponents did not change outcomes on Tuesday. Visible, local benefits and early engagement are where developers can still shape the result.
- Watch the lame-duck and transition window. Ohio, Texas, Georgia and New Mexico all have decisions due before new governors take office in January.