US midterms: Voters back data centre restrictions in dozens of towns, Harwood rejects measure

Voters in dozens of US towns approved restrictions on data centres during Tuesday’s midterm elections, with Harwood, North Dakota, the sole exception where residents rejected a measure to slow such developments. About three-fourths of the town’s roughly 430 voters opposed the ballot initiative. The Harwood measure targeted a planned Applied Digital Corp. data centre, with Oracle Corp. as the ultimate customer, set for full capacity by 2027 on a 900-acre campus. The initiative’s leader, Michael Swartz, gathered 91 signatures in three days, but the mayor and chamber of commerce urged rejection, warning of lost tax revenue and development barriers. The results elsewhere reflected broad voter frustration with data centres over utility costs and transparency, with at least 45 municipal ballot measures mostly passing. Democratic gubernatorial wins in Texas, Georgia, and Ohio included calls for stricter oversight, while a September poll showed 72% of voters opposing local data centres.