Five Ohio towns pass data center charter amendments, results show

Voters in five Ohio cities and villages backed charter amendments aimed at data centers on Tuesday. That is according to results posted overnight by county boards of elections. None of the results is final. Ohio boards will not certify until later this month.

The margins were wide. The smallest was in Conneaut, where the measure won about 65% of the yes and no votes. The largest was in Granville, at about 82%.

The results

In Trenton, in Butler County, Issue 17 passed 3,541 to 903, or 79.68% yes. The county’s results page labels the totals “unofficial” and showed all precincts in. Butler County’s ballot list describes the measure as a charter amendment titled “Prohibition of Construction of a Data Center.”

In Licking County, two charter amendments on data centers passed. Pataskala’s won 5,418 to 1,941, or 73.62%. Granville’s won 2,015 to 429, or 82.45%. The county’s results showed 96 of 96 precincts reporting.

In Upper Sandusky, a charter amendment labeled “Prohibition of a Data Center” passed 1,893 to 568, or 76.92%. Wyandot County titled its report an “Unofficial Certification of Results.” All six precincts reported.

In Conneaut, Issue 10 passed 2,301 to 1,218. The Ashtabula County results show 64.18% yes and 33.97% no, figured against all ballots in the contest, including those that skipped the question. The county’s official issues sheet lists Issue 10 as a “proposed charter amendment data center.”

One more vote was advisory. In the village of Monroeville, a “Data Center Advisory Question” drew 394 no votes to 55 yes, or 87.75% no. Huron County’s unofficial canvass does not print the question’s wording. An advisory vote does not change local law on its own.

What we could not confirm

Other local votes tied to data centers took place in Ohio and other states. This story reports only those we could confirm on an official results page and tie to data centers through official ballot wording, as of about 3 a.m. PT.

Several Ohio results pages list zoning or referendum questions without naming data centers. We left those out. Other counties’ pages did not load in full or were not reached by deadline.

Our read

These were small places. Together they cast fewer than 21,000 votes on the five amendments. But the pattern is hard to miss. In every amendment we could confirm, voters said yes by wide margins. In Trenton and Upper Sandusky, the official titles call those measures prohibitions.

The demand behind these fights is real. Training and running AI models takes enormous computing power. Large campuses need a great deal of electricity. Many also use water for cooling. Some utilities now ask large customers to cut use when the grid is strained, as OpenAI says its Georgia campus can do.

Residents weigh that against tax revenue and jobs. Local officials often see a big new taxpayer. Neighbors often see transmission lines, noise, water draws and higher bills. A charter amendment hands that call to voters directly. It also makes the result hard for a council to undo.

For the AI industry, the lesson is about siting, not demand. Compute will keep growing. Where it lands may depend more on local consent than on land or power alone.

What’s next

Under Ohio Secretary of State Directive 2026-48, voters may cure absentee and provisional ballot problems through Saturday, Nov. 7. County boards must begin the official canvass between Sunday, Nov. 8, and Wednesday, Nov. 18. Each board must certify official results no later than Tuesday, Nov. 24. Totals could shift slightly before then.

Sources: Butler County results · Butler County ballot list · Licking County results · Wyandot County results · Ashtabula County results · Ashtabula County issues sheet · Huron County canvass · Ohio SOS Directive 2026-48