Voters in five central Ohio communities delivered a sweeping rebuke to large data centers on Tuesday, November 3, approving every local restriction before them, according to unofficial county returns reported Wednesday, November 4. Sunbury, Pataskala and Granville amended their charters to ban large facilities outright, Grove City adopted a voter-consent rule for major industrial development, and Ashville voters rejected a development agreement with developer EdgeConneX.
The three bans share a size threshold. Sunbury, in Delaware County, passed with 78.64 percent, 2,809 votes to 763 across all six precincts, covering facilities exceeding 25 megawatts. Pataskala, in Licking County, passed with 73.62 percent, 5,418 yes votes to 1,941 no. Granville, also in Licking County, approved with 82.45 percent, 2,015 votes to 429, as a preventive measure rather than a response to a specific proposal.
Grove City took a procedural route. Voters enacted Issue 28, the Community Consent Amendment, with 54.60 percent, 11,317 votes to 9,411 across all 30 precincts in Franklin County’s unofficial summary. Instead of a ban, it requires a public referendum before the city can approve a covered development meeting any of three thresholds: at least 50 contiguous acres, more than 20 megawatts of peak electrical demand, or more than 500,000 gallons of water per day.
Ashville, in Pickaway County, voted directly on a deal its council had approved. Voters rejected a resolution approving a development and supply contract with EdgeConneX, 1,469 votes against to 331 in favor, with all four precincts reporting. The Columbus Dispatch reported EdgeConneX wants an 800-megawatt data center on 195 acres in the village of about 5,000, with two buildings and a natural-gas plant. Reversing the agreement may change the benefits involved, but will not stop construction already underway.
Central Ohio was part of a larger statewide verdict. The Cincinnati Enquirer reported November 4 that voters in 18 Ohio municipalities passed bans or restrictions on November 3, the most such measures of any state. The Columbus Dispatch reported six central Ohio issues passed by substantial margins, including Urbana’s, by 77 percent. Ballotpedia counted 41 data center ballot issues nationwide, 21 in Ohio.
Supporters pointed to the effects on surrounding communities. Reporting compiled by Pique Media noted Ohioans near existing or proposed data centers often raise concerns about light, air and noise pollution, and land and utility use. Hilliard resident Cathy Cowan Becker, an opponent of turbine-powered data centers, told The Columbus Dispatch she was not surprised the issues passed in Delaware, Franklin, Licking and Pickaway counties. “It’s in all of our backyards and people are finding ways to push back,” she told The Columbus Dispatch.
Not everyone in local government welcomed the results. Grove City Mayor Richard “Ike” Stage conceded the Issue 28 vote, telling The Columbus Dispatch, “I think hysteria has come into play,” and saying concerns about water usage and electricity spikes had taken over the debate. In Ashville, village administrator Bert Cline had questioned the opposition before the vote. “I honestly believe they think if they vote it down, it’s going to go away,” Cline said previously, in comments reported by The Columbus Dispatch.
The votes come as Ohio’s grid absorbs unprecedented demand. According to the Office of the Ohio Consumers’ Counsel, cited by Pique Media, Ohio ranks fifth nationally by data center count, with more than 200 facilities, primarily in central Ohio; a hyperscale facility can use power equal to about 100,000 homes, and some use millions of gallons of water daily. The Public Utilities Commission of Ohio has approved an AEP Ohio tariff requiring new large facilities to pay for at least 85 percent of contracted capacity for up to 12 years.
Grove City’s result builds on earlier steps. The Columbus Dispatch reported the city adopted a 12-month moratorium on data centers on June 1 while their impact is studied. Under the new amendment, a rejected project cannot return for 24 months, applicants must fund the referendum and an independent study, and existing facilities can seek grandfathered status by filing a baseline declaration within 180 days.
What we know — and what we’re still waiting on: the totals above are unofficial results from the Delaware, Licking, Franklin and Pickaway county boards of elections, not final until each board certifies. The Ohio Secretary of State says certified results are published approximately three weeks after the election, according to reporting by Unite.ai. Still unknown are each change’s effective date, whether any developer will challenge a ban in court, and the fate of a proposed hyperscale Amazon project in Sunbury, which reporting described as unclear.
The local votes are unlikely to be Ohio’s last word. The Columbus Dispatch reported Conserve Ohio is finalizing a ballot initiative for a statewide ban next year, while the local issues take more immediate effect. A proposed constitutional amendment banning data centers above 25 megawatts missed the 413,487 signatures needed by July 1 for this year’s ballot, and its backers are aiming for November 2027, according to Ballotpedia tracking.
What happens next is certification, then enforcement. County boards will certify the results in coming weeks, after which the charter amendments become governing law for new large proposals, and Grove City’s referendum rule will apply to the next covered project. In Ashville, construction already underway continues while the village and EdgeConneX sort out the rejected agreement. Developers seeking central Ohio sites now face binding local mandates alongside state utility and tariff rules.