Ohio won’t vote on banning data centers this fall

Ohioans won’t be voting on whether to ban data centers on the November ballot.

Conserve Ohio, the group working to block most data centers, announced that it would not submit the more than 413,000 signatures needed to make the fall ballot by the July 1 deadline.

But the data center opponents aren’t giving up on a constitutional amendment. They are now targeting the 2027 ballot.

“We want to make it clear: we will not be stopping. Construction won’t be stopping, so signature gathering and community action will not be stopping,” according to a Conserve Ohio statement.

The group’s decision comes after Ohio lawmakers failed to pass legislation to rein in data centers before a months-long break. Lawmakers disagreed on whether to reduce tax breaks for data centers or eliminate them entirely.

The debate over data centers in Ohio has created strange political bedfellows. Environmentalists and rural voters often oppose them, while business groups and labor unions are backing them.

State government reporter Jessie Balmert can be reached at jbalmert@gannett.com or @jbalmert on X.