Spotlight on an initiative: Banning mega data centers
Journey with a campaign that kicked off in March 2026, when a rural Ohio group presented a petition to the Ohio Attorney General's office. Watch the process unfold, as the group will send us video updates to capture key steps in the process. Will voters get a say at the November 2026 elections? We will learn together!
Photo credit: Danielle Niccole Kinhalt and Taylor Dryden
Meet the Team:
A true grassroots effort, the Conserve Ohio team coordinating the petition are Southern Ohio residents bringing attention to potential harm to their communities.
Their Mission:
Get a constitutional amendment to prohibit data centers larger than 25 megawatts.
Date: 6/22/26
Signature gathering target bumps out a year, and the group attends a weekly county commissioners meeting
~Nikki, Danielle, Emily and a public meeting
Date: 6/5/26
Conserve Ohio attorney Austin Baurichter on drafting the petition
~Austin
Date: 6/1/26
Testifying before the Select Committee on Data Centers
~Nikki
More on Select Committee on Data Centers:
News | Public Testimony
Date: 5/1/26
Signature Gathering for Ohio's Data Center Ballot Initiative
~Emily, Nikki, Danielle and Taryn
Date: 4/2/26
Ohio Ballot Board evaluates for one subject
~Emily and Nikki
April 2, 2026 - Ohio Ballot Board evaluates data center initiative for single subject
Date: 3/26/26
Attorney General certifies petition title and summary
~Taylor and Skye
March 26 - AG Certifies: Spotlight on Ohio's citizen initiative to ban large data centers
Date: 3/23/26
How the initiative got started
~Emily and Danielle
Meet Ohio’s latest ballot initiative proposal: banning mega data centers
