On November 3, 2026, voters in ten Ohio communities approved bans on large data centers, according to a report by WLWT. The report named Trenton, in Butler County, and said an Amazon Web Services (AWS) data center already under construction in Fayette County was unaffected by a separate pause on new projects there.
Ohio’s reported data-center restrictions involved three distinct tracks: community votes, a county pause, and a proposed statewide amendment.
What Ohio voters approved
WLWT reported that ten communities approved bans on large data centers, but named only Trenton. EFE placed the local ballot questions on November 3. Its November 5 snapshot, attributed to Ballotpedia, counted 38 of 41 data-center ballot contests across ten states as favoring restrictions or rejecting measures intended to facilitate development; three contests were still pending in that account.
The AWS facility and Fayette County’s pause
The Fayette County commissioners’ pause covered new data-center projects in several townships. WLWT reported that it did not affect the AWS facility already under construction. The report described the project as worth multiple billions of dollars.
The statewide amendment was a separate effort
A proposed statewide constitutional amendment followed a different route from the community votes. WBNS 10TV reported that the Ohio Ballot Board unanimously approved the proposal as a single ballot issue, allowing supporters to begin gathering signatures. The report also carried opposition from Dan Diorio, the Data Center Coalition’s vice president of state policy, who argued that a statewide moratorium could discourage investment and weaken Ohio’s economic momentum.
Nearby residents raised concerns about costs and land
Residents of nearby Jeffersonville, a village of about 1,250 people, raised concerns about farmland, property values, taxes, and artificial night lighting, WLWT reported.
Fayette County resident Tom Goolsby said he supported the AWS project only if the company paid for electricity, water, and other costs. He also called for the project’s costs to be explained upfront and suggested that the development benefit the community, for example through lower taxes or a fire station.
