# U.S. voters approve 33 measures restricting data center development

_Published Wednesday, November 4, 2026 at 8:42 AM EST · Infrastructure, Policy · Latest · Tier 1 — Major_

![U.S. voters during the 2028 midterm elections — Primary](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/Lsdx8py6CqRVLqSZCT29ze-1920-80.png)

U.S. voters approved 33 measures restricting data center development in early midterm results tracked by Data Centers on the Ballot, Tom's Hardware reported. Six more restrictive measures were leading, five had no posted results, and an additional industrial-project review measure in Harwood, North Dakota, failed.

The restrictions vary from permanent bans and moratoriums to limits based on facility size or consumption. Their effect on projects already underway is unclear. The report says only three developments totaling 2.3 gigawatts have been delayed by the 300-plus local data center bans already enacted across the country.

## Sources

- [Tom's Hardware](https://www.tomshardware.com/tech-industry/data-centers/ai-data-centers-comprehensively-defeated-at-us-midterm-elections-45-measures-put-on-the-ballot-as-americans-overwhelmingly-vote-against-developments)

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Canonical: https://techandbusiness.org/newswire/sIpEF2Wz1tmFocjkqJvBfe
Published: 2026-11-04T13:42:22.455Z
Story chronology: 2026-11-04T13:13:32.000Z
Retrieved: 2026-11-04T22:01:08.817Z
Publisher: Tech & Business (techandbusiness.org)