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Voters Turn Against Data Centers

November 7, 2026
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November 7, 2026 09:00 AM PST

(PenniesToSave.com) – The artificial intelligence boom was on the ballot this week, and it lost almost everywhere. Data center questions appeared on ballots 41 times across 10 states on Tuesday, and with most results in, voters sided with the industry just once, according to Scientific American [3]. The measures ranged from outright bans and moratoriums to zoning rules and requirements that future voters approve new projects [2].

The backlash reached past local ballots. In Texas, home to roughly a quarter of the data center capacity planned in the U.S., Democrat Gina Hinojosa won the governor’s race after campaigning for an immediate moratorium [1][3]. WIRED summed up the night by reporting that data centers and their supporters fared poorly from high-profile races down to local rezoning votes [5]. For households, the results raise practical questions about power and water costs, local tax incentives and the AI-linked stocks held in many investment portfolios.

What Did Voters Decide on Data Centers?

Scientific American, drawing on Ballotpedia data, counted 41 data center questions on Tuesday ballots in 10 states, many of them in Ohio [3]. They included moratoriums, attempted rezonings and advisory votes meant to guide local officials [3]. Six similar votes took place earlier in the year, and three more are still to come [3].

The margins were often lopsided. In Wells, Maine, more than 80% of voters approved a retroactive 180-day moratorium on data center development [3]. Emporia, Kansas voted to ban construction [3]. In Alhambra, California, a full ban was leading with 81.84% of the vote as of Wednesday, though the result was not final [2]. Neighboring Monterey Park approved the country’s first outright ban on data centers in June, and a City Council incumbent there was clinging to a 60-vote lead over an anti-data center activist [2].

Ten of the measures were advisory only, a temperature check without legal force, and SFGATE reported the anti-data center side held more than 70% in those votes as of Wednesday [2].

The lone exception came in Harwood, North Dakota, a city of about 800 residents [2]. Voters there rejected, by roughly three to one, a proposal requiring extra review of industrial projects, data centers included [3]. A $3 billion data center called Polaris Forge 2 is already under construction near the city [3]. That result shows how a community already hosting a major project can weigh the investment differently from places still debating one.

Why Are Communities Pushing Back?

Tech companies have long pitched data centers as engines of new jobs and economic opportunity [2]. Critics counter that the facilities consume large amounts of water and power, drive up energy costs and threaten nearby environmental resources [2]. For families already watching their monthly utility bills, that concern lands close to home, and it is one reason cutting back on household expenses has become a bigger priority in many budgets.

Public opinion has shifted quickly. A Gallup poll from earlier this year found 71% of Americans opposed building data centers in their areas, and the same survey found far fewer people were concerned about nuclear power plants, according to SFGATE [2]. The Washington policy team at Optimal Advisory wrote that data centers went from a popular economic development tool in 2024 and 2025 to something close to a political liability by the time the midterm campaigns heated up [1].

Even industry leaders have acknowledged the problem. OpenAI CEO Sam Altman told Business Insider he understood the backlash, comparing it to not wanting a nuclear plant next door even when it is safe [2]. The Monterey Park incumbent who voted against a proposed data center still told the New York Times the project would have been a valuable anchor for the area [2].

Companies are now spending to change minds. OpenAI has tried rebranding data centers as compute campuses, and Meta posted a San Francisco job for a Data Center Content Manager paying up to $232,000 to help win community support [2]. Anthropic, in a recent preview filing for its planned IPO, warned potential investors that organized anti-data center movements could threaten its value [2].

How Did Governors’ Races Raise the Stakes?

The skepticism climbed the ballot. Governors-elect Gina Hinojosa in Texas, Keisha Lance Bottoms in Georgia and Amy Acton in Ohio, all Democrats, made data center regulation a central part of their campaigns, Scientific American reported [3]. Hinojosa, who defeated incumbent Republican Gov. Greg Abbott, wants an immediate moratorium on data centers in the state [1].

Texas matters more than any other state in this fight. Wells Fargo estimates 27% of planned U.S. data center gigawatts are in Texas, while Dan Ives of Yorkville Ives & Co. put the share at about 25% to 30% [1]. Wells Fargo estimates Georgia accounts for 7% of planned capacity, with Ohio and Pennsylvania at 5% each, and Democrats won or held the governorships in all three [1]. Ives said the midterms will slow the pace of data center construction across the country and called Texas the biggest worry of the night for tech investors [1].

The results also hit the cycle’s largest donor. Elon Musk spent at least $474 million on the midterms, including $224 million in Texas, where Republican Senate nominee Ken Paxton and Abbott both lost [1]. SpaceX is building multiple gigawatts of data center capacity, including projects in Texas [1]. Musk responded on X early Wednesday with a nod to his speculative plans for AI infrastructure off the planet [1].

Data centers in space looking pretty appealing right now.

Elon Musk, in a post on X [1]

In Washington, analysts doubt any legislation could meaningfully slow data center construction, but a Democratic-led Congress raises the odds of more hearings and investigations into the AI buildout, Reuters reported [4].

How Did Markets React?

Investors moved quickly on Wednesday. Reuters reported that data center operators Applied Digital and CoreWeave fell 8.8% and 9.5%, and Cipher Digital dropped 21% [4]. Earlier in the morning, CNBC had CoreWeave down about 4%, a reminder that these were fast-moving, single-day reactions rather than settled values [1]. Shares of SpaceX fell 4% after the open and Tesla dropped 5% [1].

The selling spread to power companies. GE Vernova fell 11.5%, while Constellation Energy and Vistra, among the power companies most exposed to Texas data center projects, slid 9.2% and 15.4%, according to Reuters [4]. Clean energy shares, by contrast, rallied [4].

The largest tech companies moved the other way. Amazon and Microsoft each rose about 6%, putting them on track for their biggest one-day gains since late July, and Alphabet gained 4.6% [4]. Art Hogan, chief market strategist at B. Riley Wealth, told Reuters that companies already owning data centers hold more valuable assets if the industry avoids an overbuild, though a slower pace of construction would also mean slower capital spending [4].

The election landed on a market that was already uneasy. The Nasdaq-100 fell into correction territory at the end of October amid concerns that data center spending by large tech companies and AI developers was slowing [1]. Earlier this year, Bank of America strategist Michael Hartnett warned that a Democratic Senate combined with a Democratic win in Texas could lead to a slump of more than 10% in stocks into year-end, CNBC reported [1]. That was a forecast made before the vote, not a result, and markets will set their own course from here.

Who Pays for the Power and Water Data Centers Use?

For most households, this is the heart of the issue. Critics of data center development argue the facilities push up energy costs for surrounding communities [2]. Mark Malek, chief investment officer at Siebert Financial, told Reuters he expects fewer tax incentives for data centers and greater responsibility for power and water costs to shift onto the companies building them [4].

The AI buildout will become more expensive, not disappear.

Mark Malek, chief investment officer at Siebert Financial [4]

That shift would put pressure on company returns, Malek said, and he identified borrowers, rather than the biggest spenders, as the most vulnerable AI companies [4]. For residents, the same change would mean a stronger case that the businesses using the power and water should carry more of the cost.

Local officials are getting the message. Optimal Advisory wrote that the midterms are likely to show state and local officials there is a political upside to delaying data centers or raising their costs [1]. Many of Tuesday’s measures put that decision directly in voters’ hands, including rules that require future elections before new projects can be built [2].

The trade-off is real. Data centers bring construction, tax base and investment, as Harwood’s $3 billion project shows [3]. The question communities now face is whether those benefits outweigh the costs residents may shoulder, and voters in 40 of 41 contests gave a clear answer for now [3].

What Should Investors and Retirement Savers Watch?

The AI trade has led the bull market, and many savers hold these companies through retirement accounts and index funds and ETFs without owning individual shares. Wednesday’s split reaction shows why diversification matters. Data center operators and power producers fell sharply, while the biggest tech companies rose [4].

Several signals are worth tracking. Three more data center ballot measures are still to come [3], and new governors in Texas, Georgia and Ohio will take office with data center regulation high on their agendas [3]. Congress may hold hearings and investigations into the AI buildout [4]. Utility stocks with heavy exposure to Texas projects could remain sensitive to any moratorium there [1][4].

Company disclosures matter too. Anthropic has already listed anti-data center movements as a risk to its value in its IPO preview filing [2], a sign the backlash is now a factor companies must report to investors. OpenAI’s chief global affairs officer, Chris Lehane, has predicted AI will be the defining issue of the 2028 presidential election, and Scientific American wrote that Tuesday’s results lend weight to that forecast [3].

None of this means the buildout ends. Analysts expect it to cost more and move more slowly, not disappear [1][4]. For long-term savers, the steadier response is to know what their funds own and avoid reacting to a single day of headlines.

Final Thoughts

Tuesday delivered one of the clearest signals yet on how communities feel about the AI buildout. With most results in, data center opponents prevailed in 40 of 41 ballot contests across 10 states [3], and Texas, the single largest market for planned capacity, elected a governor who wants an immediate moratorium [1].

The results put local control front and center. Residents in towns like Wells, Alhambra and Emporia chose to set limits on what gets built near them [2][3], while Harwood voters chose to keep a $3 billion project on track [3]. Those decisions came from the people who will live next to the facilities and help pay for the power and water they use.

For households, the takeaways are practical. Watch how new rules handle energy and water costs, keep an eye on local tax incentives offered to developers, and check how much of a retirement portfolio rides on AI-linked stocks. The buildout is likely to continue, but voters have made clear it will happen on tougher terms.

Works Cited

[1] Nicol-Schwarz, Kai, and Sarah Min. “AI Data Center Stocks and Musk’s SpaceX Decline as Texas Governor Result Raises Risks of a Slowdown.” CNBC, 4 Nov. 2026, www.cnbc.com/2026/11/04/ai-stocks-texas-governor-data-centers.html.

[2] Brown, Matthew. “Republicans Lost Big This Election. Big Tech Lost More.” SFGATE, 4 Nov. 2026, www.sfgate.com/tech/article/data-center-election-22512624.php.

[3] Hall, Peter. “The Data Center Boom Was on Tuesday Ballots 41 Times. It Won Once.” Scientific American, 4 Nov. 2026, www.scientificamerican.com/article/2026-election-results-show-widespread-opposition-to-ai-data-centers/.

[4] Agarwal, Purvi, and Johann M Cherian. “AI Data-Center Stocks Slide, Renewables Rally after Democratic US Midterm Sweep.” Reuters, Yahoo Finance, 4 Nov. 2026, finance.yahoo.com/energy/articles/ai-data-center-stocks-dip-113427491.html.

[5] Elliott, Vittoria, and Molly Taft. “The Results Are In: Voters Hate Data Centers.” WIRED, 4 Nov. 2026, www.wired.com/story/the-results-are-in-voters-hate-data-centers/.