American Voters Overwhelmingly Reject AI Data Centers

In the midterm elections, data center-related proposals appeared on ballots in more than 40 races across 13 states, and voters opposed them in 38 and counting, with six cities banning data centers outright and 12 capping their megawatt draw. Candidates who backed data centers lost nationwide, including Texas Gov. Greg Abbott, who lost his bid for a fourth term by more than 700,000 votes to Democrat Gina Hinojosa, and Elon Musk responded on X that "Data centers in space looking pretty appealing right now." Local Progress's Michael Whitesides said the results show people don't want data centers in their backyards and don't see the promised benefits in their daily lives.