COLUMBUS, Ohio—(AVC News)—We are just a few days away from the start of early voting and just over 30 days away from the November, mid term elections.
Across the country, on the federal level, elections will be held for all 435 U.S. House seats and 35 of the 100 U.S. Senate seats.
Additionally, 36 states, including Ohio, will elect governors and 46 states will vote on over 61 hundred state legislator races.
Currently, most election models heavily favor Democrats to take back the House and give the party a slight edge to flip the Senate.
In Ohio, voters will see State Issue Three along with with races for all of Ohio’s major offices.
Data Centers: A Hot Topic on the Ballot
The issue of data centers is a topic on the minds of many Ohioans, and will be a ballot issue as well.
At last report, at least 138 Ohio municipalities and townships currently have active moratoriums on data centers. In addition, 23 communities have effectively banned data centers, with at least 23 more across seven counties considering similar proposals.
Come election day, at 20, Ohio has the most data center related ballot issues of any state in the U.S..
In this area, Issue 16 in Perry County is a voter initiative to require hyperscale center developers, seeking tax incentives to provide guarantees, while Pataskala, in Licking County is asking voters to completely prohibit construction of large scale data centers.
Other ballot issues, scattered across the state include various referendums, zoning and initiatives to curb size or out-right ban the construction of data centers.
A recent poll by Bowling Green State University found that 75% of Ohioans polled oppose data center construction in their local communities while 63% are against construction in other parts of the state. In addition, 78% of Ohioans polled support data center moratoriums until more information can be gathered about their effects.
As a reminder, the deadline to register to vote in the upcoming election is 9 pm on Monday, October 5.
