Data centres on the ballot: could the AI infrastructure shape US midterms?

Voters from Ohio to Illinois decide dozens of local measures on Tuesday, as opposition to the giant buildings powering AI cuts across party lines.

When Americans vote on Tuesday, some will be deciding more than who goes to Congress. They’ll also help decide whether more data centres, the giant buildings that power AI, get built near them, and under what rules.

Until recently, few people had heard of them. Now they’re at the heart of the AI boom, housing the chips and servers behind services like ChatGPT and Claude. But their rapid growth and huge electricity use have sparked backlash, not just in the US but worldwide.

A Gallup poll in May found seven in ten Americans oppose a data centre being built in their area. In its latest poll, released Thursday, it ranked ahead of climate change as an important issue for residents in the upcoming midterm election. 

According to Reuters, voters in 38 local jurisdictions will consider at least 41 measures to delay, ban or set new rules for data centres. Twenty-one are in Ohio, where Democrats and Republicans are joining forces against them.