As the midterm elections approach their final stretch, data centers have emerged as a central issue nationwide. The issue has appeared on a handful of local ballot measures so far this year, as well as indirectly in town halls and political speeches up and down the ballot.
A data center is a physical location equipped with computer systems, servers, data storage, networking hardware, and the necessary power and cooling systems to store, process, manage, and transmit digital information.
It is one issue where partisanship doesn't matter much.
Respected polls such as Reuters/Ipsos, Gallup, and Pew Research Center show concern about data centers cuts across party lines, particularly when Americans are asked about higher electricity prices or construction in their own communities.
The issue is messy and complex.
Even as public demand for AI applications reaches unprecedented levels, local communities are debating how much local disruption they're willing to put up with to power the AI tools they use every day. That includes things they may not think of as AI, such as using searching for information, posting images and videos to social media, drafting or rewriting emails and documents, summarizing, brainstorming, homework and research, trip planning, shopping comparisons, coding help, image creation, and customer service.
Americans' opposition is less about AI itself than about what communities are being asked to absorb to support it — enormous power demand, heavy water use, noise and a sprawling industrial footprint across hundreds of acres and use as much electricity as a sizable city.
The AI data centers have to go somewhere, though. That puts communities in the middle of questions about where data centers should be built, who should pay for the electricity and infrastructure they require, how much water and land they should be allowed to consume, and what residents should get in return.
There are less visible questions, too. Data centers can hold enormous amounts of personal, corporate and government information, raising questions about who owns that data, who can access it, what legal protections apply and whether its physical location affects who ultimately has jurisdiction over it.
Some of the problems driving opposition to data centers are not inevitable. The technology already exists to power them with more wind and solar and to dramatically reduce water usage. Newer cooling systems can recycle coolant instead of constantly drawing fresh water, and Microsoft says its newest AI data center design can operate without using water for cooling during normal operations.
There are tradeoffs — water-saving systems can use more electricity, and renewable energy still needs batteries, transmission lines or backup power. And wind and solar projects can face the same kind of local resistance as data centers, with opposition often focused on land use, views, noise, wildlife impacts and changes to a community's character.
Voters have already decided four local data center ballot measures this year, and all four results favored greater restrictions on development. Four more certified measures remain to be decided in 2026, according to Ballotpedia.
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