Push to ban data centers in Ohio takes step toward ballot
-
Archived from the IMDb Discussion Forums — AI
sheetsadam1 — 1 week ago(March 26, 2026 09:56 PM)
I will be signing as soon as I see a petition!
https://www.nbc4i.com/news/politics/push-to-ban-data-centers-in-ohio-takes-step-toward-ballot/
A constitutional amendment to ban new data centers in Ohio is allowed to move forward, Attorney General Dave Yost said Thursday.
A coalition of rural Ohioans submitted an initial petition to the state to start the amendment process on March 16. Thursday, Yost approved their ballot language, allowing the group to begin collecting signatures statewide. If they gather enough valid signatures, the proposition will go to Ohio voters for possible approval.
Organizers said the movement came together organically, attracting around 1,800 signatures in just over a week. Now approved, the group has until July to collect around 413,500 signatures in order to get on the November ballot.
Ohio law allows citizens to place constitutional amendments on the ballot for possible approval if they can collect as many signatures as at least 10% of participants in the last gubernatorial election. Signatures must be collected from at least 44 of Ohio’s 88 counties.
If approved, voters would get to vote on whether or not to prohibit data center construction for data centers that use more than 25 megawatts per month.
The push to ban data centers comes amid mass community pushback, with many municipalities considering bans or limits on data centers. Ohio is already home to around 200 data centers, most of which are in central Ohio.
Draft Barron Trump