Data centers and power bills become a midterm issue as local measures appear on ballots in 10 states

Power bills and data centers have cast a rare spotlight on utilities in the US midterm elections¹. In Ohio, candidate Acton has said she supports a data center moratorium, while her Republican opponent Vivek Ramaswamy said he would offer assurances to Ohioans living near data centers¹. Local data center measures are on ballots in 10 states⁴.

Bloomington Township voters will decide on a moratorium for large-scale data centers on the 3 November ballot⁵. In South Carolina, one voter said data centers are a key issue in the Darline Graham race, where a candidate named Andrews has called for a two-year moratorium². The voter, Corbit, 70, retired from the BMW plant near Spartanburg as a data center manager².

Texas Democrats see data centers as a winning issue³. Abbott announced a moratorium on new data center construction in rural communities in September³. In New Hampshire, Ayotte plans to put a moratorium on new data centers in her state budget plan, after speaking out earlier this year against proposals in Bow¹⁰.

Why it matters to investors

Local governments are already acting^7,8,9. Poweshiek County passed a moratorium on data centers⁷. Haverhill, Massachusetts, banned data centers, and the Lowell City Council unanimously approved a yearlong moratorium on new data center construction, development and permit applications in March⁸. The Ormond Beach City Commission approved an 18-month moratorium and is now crafting possible regulation changes⁹.

In North Carolina, Chatham County leaders and environmental activists called for a statewide moratorium, making Chatham the sixth county in the state to call for one⁶. In Michigan, Delhi Township rejected a data center pitch before talks even began; developers have not applied for rezoning, and the township is under a 12-month moratorium that expires in April¹¹.

Each pause or ban narrows the sites available to developers, and the measures now span towns, counties and state-level proposals^6,8,10. Candidates on both sides of the Ohio race are addressing the issue, from Acton’s support for a moratorium to Ramaswamy’s assurances to residents living near data centers¹.

What to watch

The 3 November results will show whether ballot measures such as the Bloomington Township vote pass, and whether candidates who campaigned on moratoriums win^1,4,5. Statewide action is the larger question: Ayotte’s budget plan and the North Carolina county campaign both aim beyond individual towns^6,10.

Expiry dates also matter, since temporary pauses such as Delhi Township’s 12-month moratorium and Ormond Beach’s 18-month moratorium will come up for renewal or replacement with new rules^9,11.