TRENTON, Ohio — Voters in this Butler County city of about 14,000 decided Issue 17 on Tuesday, November 3, a citizen-led charter amendment to ban new data centers using more than 25 megawatts of electricity inside city limits. Polls closed at 7:30 p.m., and no result had been reported in the returns tracked by Ballotpedia on Tuesday night.
What was already clear was the turnout. Advocates from both sides were stationed outside Edgewood Middle School from the 6:30 a.m. poll opening, and they agreed on one thing, according to The Cincinnati Enquirer: Issue 17 had drawn exceptional midterm turnout. An advocate for the Trenton Community Alliance, which opposes the ban, told The Enquirer she has observed Trenton polls for 10 years and this November brought the highest turnout she has seen.
Lauren Johnson, a 40-year-old resident holding a sign in support of the ban, told The Enquirer, “This is the most people I’ve ever seen vote here,” adding, “I’ve never stood in line until today.” Lacy Roth, 30, who brought her 9-month-old son to the polls and voted for the ban, told The Enquirer she wanted him to grow up in a community that is “still a small town, close together and keeping its small town ways.”
Daniel Davis, 76, a five-year resident, told The Enquirer he was voting no, saying, “I think we need the data centers,” and noting they would mean jobs and revenue for the city, The Enquirer reported. That split has run through months of debate over two proposed data centers in the area, including one for Amazon Web Services, according to The Enquirer.
Issue 17 reached the ballot only after a court fight. Five residents petitioned in July 2026 to amend the charter to prohibit data center construction, and the Butler County Board of Elections verified 336 valid signatures, according to Court News Ohio. City Council refused in August to certify it, arguing 820 signatures were required — 10 percent of 8,197 registered voters. The Supreme Court of Ohio ruled only 128 were needed, based on the 1,277 ballots cast in the last municipal election, and found the council had “disregarded applicable law,” Court News Ohio reported.
The vote has limits. The Enquirer has reported Issue 17 would apply only within city limits, and a planned 18-building Amazon data center sits just outside the city in St. Clair and Madison townships, so a yes vote would not by itself stop it. Trenton was not deciding alone: Ballotpedia counted 21 data center measures across 18 Ohio communities on November 3, the largest share of any state, and The Enquirer reported Butler County turnout reached 56.4 percent by 5:45 p.m. Tuesday.
What happens next rests with the Butler County Board of Elections and its unofficial count. If Issue 17 passed, the charter will bar the city from approving new data centers above 25 megawatts inside city limits. If it failed, the charter stays unchanged and future proposals continue through the city’s normal approval process.
Photo: Antony-22, CC BY-SA 4.0