Voters across the United States decisively rejected artificial intelligence infrastructure on Election Day, with seventy-six percent of NBC News poll respondents opposing data centers in their communities while dozens of local ballot measures moved to block or restrict new construction.
The anti-data-center backlash reshaped political landscapes and rattled financial markets. In Texas, which accounts for roughly twenty-five to thirty percent of planned United States data center capacity, Democrat Gina Hinojosa ousted Republican Greg Abbott after campaigning on a pledge to temporarily halt all new data center construction until there were legal safeguards, according to reporting by The Verge and CNBC. Hinojosa’s victory makes her the state’s first Democratic governor since 1990 and delivers a sharp rebuke to the state’s prior pro-tech expansion strategy.
In the Ohio Senate race, voters elected Democrat Sherrod Brown, who made opposition to data center construction a key part of his campaign message. Voters were faced with questions about data centers directly in 45 local ballot measures nationwide, with the results of 33 of those restricting data center development as of Wednesday morning, according to a site compiled by Redbud Consulting. Voters who feel artificial intelligence will do more to hurt society reflected a national mood that has turned sharply against data centers in recent months, with exit polls showing 57 percent of voters held that view compared to just 24 percent who said it would help.
Ballot Measures and Local Bans Multiply Across States
Across thirteen states, voters confronted local ballot measures targeting data center developments. In Ohio, where Meta and Amazon Web Services have planned multi-billion-dollar investments, fifteen municipalities passed bans or restrictions, including Granville, where 82.5 percent of voters prohibited data centers, according to data compiled by investingLive. Communities cited soaring power and water demands, noise, and light pollution as driving forces behind the local pushback.
In Georgia, another major hub for digital infrastructure where Atlanta ranks as a top construction market, Democrat Keisha Lance Bottoms won the gubernatorial race, ending more than two decades of Republican control. Similar sentiment echoed in utility commission races in states like Arizona and Georgia, where voters flipped longstanding conservative majorities in contests crucial for deciding how power grids connect to energy-intensive computing facilities.
Public Pushback Sparks Equipment Shares Sell-Off
Public pushback and the Democratic sweep of Congress triggered a sharp sell-off in shares of equipment suppliers and infrastructure builders on Wednesday morning. GE Vernova fell 11.5%.
Despite the equity pullback, underlying order books remained robust. The hyperscalers already have data centers, so those assets are more valuable now because there’s not going to be an overbuild of data centers,
said Art Hogan, chief market strategist at B. Riley Wealth.
Tesla and SpaceX Shares Drop After Election Results
Elon Musk, who pumped $474 million into the Republicans for the midterms, faced immediate fallout. Shares of Tesla and SpaceX dropped following the election results, according to CNBC.
Data centers in space looking pretty appealing right now
Reflecting on the political shifts and local restrictions facing terrestrial AI compute, Musk posted on X, Data centers in space looking pretty appealing right now.
More on Greg Abbott
.@NBCNews Exit Poll: Voters are concerned about AI and overwhelmingly oppose data centers https://t.co/Vhk07YInLP pic.twitter.com/n98FOzCnDG
Silicon Valley was on the ballot. It did not go well https://t.co/yxLGMLmqQF
WAPO: “.. Voters in at least 29 jurisdictions across the country passed bans or restrictions on data centers Tuesday, reflecting the widespread public revulsion to the facilities ..”@washingtonpost https://t.co/UkAos9Xzpo pic.twitter.com/Vgk31X4XBx
NEW: Voters deliver "AI earthquake," rebuking tech and billionaires -Voters backed efforts to slow data center development -AI safety advocates gained allies in Congress -New campaign tactics proved effective, offering a playbook for 2028https://t.co/TWzpEfz7Il
Venture capitalists love to talk about pivoting. Good. They're gonna have to.https://t.co/fLKNZICLFt