On November 3, data centers were on the ballot in dozens of communities. According to Heatmap, pollster David Shor counted voters siding against data center development in 40 of 41 ballot measures, with little correlation to how Republican a county was. Candidates who campaigned against data center expansion won governor's races in Ohio and Texas and Senate races in Michigan and South Carolina. The Wall Street Journal counted 125 Democrats nationwide who targeted their opponents over data centers.
Six days later, the Senate voted 73–25 to advance the Bipartisan American Affordability and Jobs Act (BAAJA), a permitting package with provisions on how data centers pay for grid upgrades and how communities evaluate them. That vote was procedural. Debate and amendments come next.
Taken together, those results look like a stop sign. The restriction data tells a more specific story. Heatmap's Matthew Zeitlin reported that election week was a fairly normal week for local restrictions. More than 830 restrictive data center measures have passed in 2026, just over 80 a month, and June was the busiest month with 133. The 40 measures passed on November 3 cover about 0.2% of the more than 19,000 municipalities in the U.S., and only one of them was at the county level.
Public opinion is moving quickly. Regulation is moving one municipality at a time. For owners, developers and enterprise users planning capacity in 2027, that points to five practical changes.
1. Do site selection at the municipal level
A state or metro can look favorable while individual towns inside it adopt moratoria, zoning limits or outright bans. Market screening is still the right first step, but it no longer settles the question. Before signing an LOI, look closely at the specific jurisdiction: recent council votes, pending ordinances, upcoming ballot measures and what residents have said in public comment. That work belongs in site selection and technical due diligence, alongside power and fiber.
2. Put the full cost of power in the base case
BAAJA includes a ratepayer protection program that would let states and utilities require data centers to pay the full cost of the system upgrades they trigger. The bill can still change before a final vote. Either way, a total cost of ownership model that treats full upgrade costs as the base case, rather than a downside scenario, gives leadership a number they can plan around.
The latest version of the bill also limits a residential battery and virtual power plant provision to resources under 5 MW. Heatmap notes that this closes a gap that could have let behind-the-meter gas plants at data centers sell excess power to the grid. If a project's economics depend on on-site generation, they are worth rechecking.
3. Bring data to the first meeting
The bill would create a Data Center Community Assistance Program at the Department of Energy to give local communities technical information and help on data center impacts. Its structure and funding are not yet specified. If it moves forward, planning commissions and councils will likely have more information to work with. Projects that arrive with clear, verifiable figures on power, water, noise, tax revenue and jobs give those boards something concrete to evaluate.
4. Look at buildings that already have zoning and power
When new sites draw more local scrutiny, a property with industrial zoning, utility service and a usable shell already in place can offer a shorter path. Adaptive reuse does not fit every requirement, and local rules still apply. For enterprise deployments, edge sites and many colocation needs, it can reduce both approval risk and time to power.
5. Weigh sentiment and regulation separately
Heatmap Pro analyst Owen Curtin noted that public sentiment against data centers does not necessarily track the regulatory landscape. Headlines are national. Restrictions are local. Track both, and base site decisions on what a jurisdiction has done and is considering.
MDI Access helps owners, developers and enterprise users evaluate sites and buildings, build total cost of ownership models that reflect real power costs, and manage projects through delivery as an independent, vendor-neutral advisor.
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Sources
- Matthew Zeitlin, "This Was Actually a Pretty Normal Week for Data Center Restrictions," Heatmap, November 6, 2026: https://heatmap.news/politics/data-center-restrictions-midterms
- Robinson Meyer and Jael Holzman, "The Last-Minute Changes to the Senate Permitting Deal, Explained," Heatmap, November 7, 2026: https://heatmap.news/energy/managers-amendment-policy-permitting-bill
- Alexander C. Kaufman, "BAAJA Blast," Heatmap AM, November 9, 2026: https://heatmap.news/am/baaja-senate-vote