Ohio voters face data center ban

One thousand acres of farmland near Cincinnati were sold to a data center developer in 2024 and 2025, triggering a statewide opposition movement. The property sits in Mt. Orab, a village of 4,300 residents, where the new development borders existing two-story homes. Nondisclosure agreements have kept construction details from the public, leaving neighbors in the dark about the project’s scale and timing.

Nick Owens, a lifelong Republican and local attorney, spent hours investigating the land records. He found that the site was purchased in secrecy. Owens joined forces with another local lawyer and a real estate agent to form Conserve Ohio. This group now includes volunteers in all 88 counties in the state. The members are Democrats, Republicans, and Independents united by a desire to preserve rural land.

Conserve Ohio is backing ballot initiatives in ten communities this fall. These measures would amend local charters to prohibit the construction of large-scale data centers used for artificial intelligence. The group is also petitioning for a state constitutional amendment that would ban such facilities statewide. The goal is to place that question before Ohio voters in 2027.

The issue has become a central part of the midterm race for a U.S. Senate seat in Ohio. Former Democratic Senator Sherrod Brown is attacking incumbent Republican Senator Jon Husted, calling him the face of data centers. Brown points to Husted’s past role as lieutenant governor, where he welcomed tech companies to the state. Husted accuses Brown of hypocrisy while pushing a congressional bill to make data centers pay for power grid upgrades. Senate Democrats have blocked that bill.

Linda Moodie, an independent volunteer in Conserve Ohio, does not trust statewide candidates to act without direct voter mandates. She collects signatures at local events, such as a recent Halloween celebration in Fairfield, Ohio. Moodie hands out petitions to parents while giving candy to children. She believes that as the projects get closer to voters’ homes, support for the ban will grow.

Political enthusiasm in rural Ohio appears to be waning. This county voted 80% for President Trump in 2024, but campaign signs are scarce this year. Owens, who served as a Trump delegate at the 2024 Republican National Convention, says the data center issue and high diesel prices have cooled Republican support. He describes the current lack of yard signs as a stark contrast to the previous cycle.

President Trump recently posted on Truth Social that communities should not oppose data centers if they want to be successful and rich. He called the facilities a golden goose and warned that killing them would leave voters with themselves to blame. Owens calls these comments tone deaf. He says people do not want to be poor or backward, but they want their regular way of life preserved.