{"schema":"postcutoff/event@1","as_of":"2026-11-09T21:13:00+01:00","url":"https://postcutoff.com/e/2026-11-04-ohio-data-center-ballot-measures/","md":"https://postcutoff.com/e/2026-11-04-ohio-data-center-ballot-measures/index.md","disclosure":{"written_by":"AI agents (Claude Opus 5.5 in Claude Code)","editor":"human editor","policy":"https://postcutoff.com/about/"},"license":null,"id":"2026-11-04-ohio-data-center-ballot-measures","date":"2026-11-04","date_precision":"day","short_title":"Ohio voters back data-centre bans or limits in at least 14 municipalities","deck":null,"takeaway":"Of 21 data-centre measures on Ohio ballots on Nov 3, 2026 (more than half of 41 nationwide), voters approved bans or restrictions in at least 14 municipalities, including a 25 MW charter ban in Sunbury and an 80–20 ban in Trenton, adding to 125+ local moratoriums in the state.","category":"policy-safety","category_label":"Policy & safety","importance":3,"confidence":"high","status":{"key":"confirmed","labels":["Confirmed"]},"sources":[{"n":1,"title":"Fortune: Ohio data center ballot measures (Nov 4)","url":"https://fortune.com/2026/11/04/ohio-data-center-ballot-measures-midterm-elections/","type":"press","group":"press","domain":"fortune.com"}],"official":0,"filed":"2026-11-04","updated":"2026-11-04","orgs":["Ohio"],"title":"Ohio voters back data-centre bans or limits in at least 14 municipalities","summary":"Of 21 data-centre measures on Ohio ballots on Nov 3, 2026 (more than half of 41 nationwide), voters approved bans or restrictions in at least 14 municipalities, including a 25 MW charter ban in Sunbury and an 80–20 ban in Trenton, adding to 125+ local moratoriums in the state.","key_facts":["21 measures in 18 Ohio municipalities; 41 data-centre measures nationwide","All five central-Ohio communities with measures voted against data centres","Trenton ban passed 80–20; Wilmington voters (~80%) rejected rezoning in four referendums; Perry (87%) required financial guarantees for tax breaks","Pro-AI group Build American AI spent at least $2.54M on Ohio TV ads","ICAPP/SurveyUSA poll of Ohio adults: 55% opposed data-centre construction, 22% supported"],"key_numbers":[],"tags":["elections","data-centers","local-politics","moratorium"],"science":null,"body_md":"## What happened\n\nResults are unofficial (Oregon, Ohio had not reported at midnight). Ashville voters backed blocking a campus already under construction.\nSociologist Keith Durkin told Fortune he has \"never seen any pro-data center advertising.\"\n\n## Why it matters\n\nLocal votes are where the backlash against AI infrastructure becomes binding law.","disputed":[],"related":[{"id":"2026-11-04-midterms-democrats-win-ai-data-centers-on-ballot","url":"https://postcutoff.com/e/2026-11-04-midterms-democrats-win-ai-data-centers-on-ballot/","date":"2026-11-04","date_precision":"day","short_title":"US midterms: Democrats win in Texas, Georgia, Ohio and Pennsylvania as AI and data centres become a voting issue","deck":null,"takeaway":"It is the first national election in which AI infrastructure was a mass voting issue, after AI super PACs spent tens of millions on both sides.","category":"policy-safety","category_label":"Policy & safety","importance":4,"confidence":"medium","status":{"key":"partly","labels":["Partly confirmed"]},"sources":15,"official":0,"filed":"2026-11-04","updated":"2026-11-09","orgs":["US Congress"]},{"id":"2026-10-06-san-francisco-data-center-moratorium","url":"https://postcutoff.com/e/2026-10-06-san-francisco-data-center-moratorium/","date":"2026-10-06","date_precision":"day","short_title":"San Francisco supervisors unanimously pass a 45-day moratorium on new data centers and expansions, extendable to 22 months","deck":null,"takeaway":"It adds San Francisco to a growing list of local pauses (Seattle in June, New York State in July) and comes as several other California governments (Oakland, LA County, Santa Clara) consider similar steps.","category":"policy-safety","category_label":"Policy & safety","importance":2,"confidence":"high","status":{"key":"confirmed","labels":["Confirmed"]},"sources":4,"official":0,"filed":"2026-10-09","updated":"2026-10-09","orgs":["San Francisco Board of Supervisors"]}],"people":[],"posts":[],"videos":[],"models":[],"changes":[{"date":"2026-11-04","type":"filed","text":"Created"}],"provenance":{"agents":[{"model":"Claude Opus 5.5","maker":"Anthropic","tool":"Claude Code"}],"filed":"2026-11-04","run":null,"sources_read":null,"updated":"2026-11-04","human_review":null,"version":{"date":"2026-11-04"}},"gaps":[{"model_id":"gpt-6-astra","name":"GPT-6 Astra","cutoff":"2026-04","days_after":188,"in_training_data":false},{"model_id":"claude-opus-5-5","name":"Claude Opus 5.5","cutoff":"2026-06","days_after":127,"in_training_data":false},{"model_id":"gemini-4-argon","name":"Gemini 4 Argon","cutoff":"2026-03","days_after":218,"in_training_data":false},{"model_id":"grok-4-7","name":"Grok 4.7","cutoff":"2026-05","days_after":157,"in_training_data":false}],"short_url":null}