Voters in 10 U.S. states approved 38 data center restriction measures, affecting about 40% of pending capacity.

BlockBeats news, November 6 - In the U.S. midterm elections, voters in 10 states passed 38 data center restriction measures and elected multiple Democratic governors who advocate pausing data center construction. Newly elected governors in Ohio, Georgia, Michigan, New Mexico, and Texas promised during their campaigns to stop or suspend statewide data center construction; the new governors of New York and Oregon pledged to extend local moratoriums already in place. Candidates supporting construction pauses in Alaska and Kansas are currently leading, but results have not yet been officially confirmed.

According to data from market intelligence firm Cleanview, approximately 40% of the planned data center capacity in the U.S. is slated for these states. In addition, 46 local ballot measures have been or are expected to be approved, which will also hinder data center development, with at least 17 of them directly banning the construction of large data centers.