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A proposed constitutional amendment banning large scale data centers statewide is moving forward
By: Amanda Pirani
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ATHENS, Ohio (WOUB/Report for America) — A constitutional amendment banning large scale data centers statewide is one step closer to making it on the November ballot.
According to an announcement made Thursday, Ohio’s Attorney General Dave Yost has certified the amendment’s petition title and summary.
If passed, it would prohibit any data center larger than 25 megawatts from construction in Ohio.
Large scale data centers typically draw around 100 megawatts.
A group of concerned residents from Adams and Brown counties, who call themselves Adams County for Responsible Development, are responsible for the initiative. They’ve since changed their name to Ohioans for Responsible Development to represent their wider efforts.
The group met while attending local meetings about data center proposals in their communities.
There are two properties under consideration for data centers in Adams County, one of which could be among the largest in the state.
“This raised enough concern in us to be like, we need to group up and actually do something about this. Because this isn’t just about our future, it’s about our children’s and our grandchildren’s future,” said Adams County resident Skye Wilson.
Brown County resident Taylor Dryden said she worries the area won’t see material gain from data center developments and will instead be exploited for its resources.
“They’re going to cause noise pollution, air pollution, water pollution,” she said. “And then they’re going to leave us high and dry … just like you see happen over and over again.”
“It was the most direct channel for the people, the actual human beings of Ohio, to voice their opinion and their desires for a significant part of the state’s future,” he said. “And actually have those opinions mean something.”
While he acknowledged that such a ban could have economic impacts, he believes the cost of data center developments would pose a higher toll.
“I think that in the long term, data centers will be worse than any alternative forms of economic development in Ohio,” he said. “I also completely and fully acknowledge that I don’t have a silver bullet or an answer but … how can we grow from within in a genuine, real, productive way? I believe that is fully possible.”
A team of about 20 volunteers gathered 8,832 signatures supporting the data center ban in eight days. The group submitted those to Yost last week.
Now that the amendment’s language and first round of signatures are approved, the state ballot board will consider whether the petition covers a single constitutional change or issue. If it’s approved as a single issue, the group will be tasked with gathering more than 400,000 additional signatures around Ohio.
State law requires those signatures come from voters in at least 44 of Ohio’s 88 counties. Additionally, the number in each county must equal at least 5% of the votes in the last gubernatorial election.
They’ll have until 125 days before the election Nov. 4 to get those verified by the attorney general’s office.
It’s a challenge movements to abolish property taxes and overturn a statewide hemp ban have struggled with. But the data center activists are confident there’s enough frustration over the developments to push them forward.
“I’m not scared,” said group member Nikki Gerber. “We’re going to get it.”
Amanda Pirani is WOUB’s Report for America Journalist covering Economic Livelihood. For more information about Report for America, you can click here.
Update and Correction (3/27/26 5:32 PM): This story has been updated to include responses from Austin Baurichter. A previous version of this story said the deadline for the amendment signatures was 65 days before the general election as stated in a press release from the attorney general. Baurichter clarified that the secretary of state’s deadline is 125 days.