Data center ban on the Ohio ballot? Petitioners get approval to start gathering signatures

Ohio Residents for Responsible Development can start collecting signatures to get a proposed constitutional amendment to prevent new, large data centers in Ohio on the November ballot.

The Ohio Ballot Board on Thursday unanimously certified the proposed amendment that would prohibit the construction of data centers with a peak load of more than 25 megawatts per month. This would prevent most modern data centers. The board was tasked with assuring the proposal contains only one amendment before it could proceed.

Ohio Secretary of State Frank LaRose is currently deployed with the Ohio Army National Guard, so Kimberly Burns was the acting chairwoman for Thursday’s Ballot Board meeting.

“It’s time to conserve Ohio and not let data centers take away all the natural resources that we are plentiful of so we have life for generations to come,” said Nikki Gerber, an Adams County resident who was part of the group who submitted the proposal.




https://ohiocapitaljournal.com/2026/04/03/data-center-ban-on-the-ohio-ballot-petitioners-get-approval-to-start-gathering-signatures/