Data-Centre Backlash Spreads: US Ballots and Amsterdam Reshape AI Siting

On 3 November 2026, voters in 10 states faced 41 local ballot measures touching data-centre policy, and a "yes" vote on 28 of them would limit development through bans or moratoriums (Ballotpedia). Three days later, on 6 November, several hundred activists occupied a Microsoft data-centre construction site in Amsterdam's Sloterdijk district (Al Jazeera). Two continents, one signal: community opposition is emerging as a serious constraint on AI infrastructure projects.

The US ballot box turns against data centres

The headline result is lopsided. Of the jurisdictions that voted as of 3 November, all results but one were against data centres or in support of restrictions on them. Another tally puts it at 46 of 47 decided local ballot measures across 13 states in 2026 (Luminix). The two counts differ, so the exact ratio should be treated cautiously. The direction is not in doubt.

The margins matter as much as the direction:

• Maine: in Wells, more than 80 percent of voters approved a retroactive 180-day moratorium on data-centre development (Scientific American). The measure would also retroactively nullify any final approval for a new or expanded data centre issued within 45 days of its effective date (Ballotpedia).
• Illinois: Bloomington backed a moratorium with 78 percent, and Morgan County backed restrictions with 88 percent (State Capital Lobbyist).
• New Hampshire: Nottingham approved a one-year permitting moratorium by 90.3% to 9.7% (Ballotpedia).
• The exception: in Harwood, North Dakota, voters by about three to one rejected a proposal requiring extra review of industrial projects, data centres included.

The retroactive design in Maine deserves attention from developers. In our reading, it means a permit in hand is no longer a guarantee.

A patchwork of moratoriums, and states joining in

Ballots are the visible tip of a broader wave. One tracker lists Ohio (101), Michigan (96), Georgia (69) and New Jersey (66) as having adopted a relatively large number of local data-centre moratoriums and bans (Programs.com).

State governments are acting too. New York Governor Kathy Hochul signed an executive order establishing a moratorium of up to one year, beginning 14 July 2026, applying to new hyperscale projects or projects exceeding 50 MW (Renewable Energy World). Maine's legislature passed a statewide moratorium earlier this year.

The federal level is reacting politically. Sen. Bernie Sanders touted the referendums and wrote "National data center moratorium now". Whether this becomes legislation is not available in sources.

The next test arrives soon. On 17 November 2026, Loudoun County, Virginia, votes on pausing final decisions on data-centre and substation applications for up to 12 months while it rewrites zoning (Luminix).

Amsterdam: when opposition leaves the ballot box

In Europe the pressure took a more confrontational form. Several hundred activists occupied the Sloterdijk site on Friday, responding to a call for a two-day protest across Europe against data centres (Al Jazeera). Estimates of participants vary: Reuters witnesses reported roughly 100 protesters reaching the site, with more than 100 activists gathered overall (Yahoo News). Demonstrators clashed with police as some climbed a crane and set off flares.

Accounts of arrests differ. Amsterdam police said one person was arrested, while Dutch reports cited by Euronews confirmed arrests were made after the breach. Microsoft said it understood that people held strong feelings about the project and respected their right to express concerns peacefully, but did not condone unlawful actions.

The regulatory backdrop explains the target. Amsterdam has restricted new data-centre development under a moratorium extending to 2030, citing pressure on electricity supply, land, water and housing. The project reportedly continues under plans dating back to 2016, before the ban, with Microsoft as its sole tenant; that framing reflects one outlet's reporting and angle. The provincial government reportedly cleared the project to proceed in January 2026 (Yahoo News). The facility is being built by British developer Pure Data Centres, and critics say it has found ways around some regulations.

The action marks the start of two days of coordinated protests across 16 countries against the rapid expansion of AI infrastructure (Al Jazeera), and it followed a series of increasingly large mobilisations in towns around Milan (ABC News). Nathan Timmer of the protest group Geef Tegengas ("Push Back") told local broadcaster AT5 that demonstrators were occupying the site to stop construction. The same group had blocked the entrance to a construction site in Sloterdijk on 12 June 2026, so the November action follows earlier action by the group.

One caution on narrative: some coverage emphasises other slogans chanted at the site. The sources do not allow a clean attribution of motives across all participants, and the stated aim reported from the group's spokesman is to halt construction.

Strategic implications for AI infrastructure siting

1. Permitting is no longer the finish line. Retroactive measures such as Wells, Maine's, and activist action against a project that was cleared to proceed in Amsterdam show that a granted permit can still be contested, or even voided. In our view, risk models should price political reversal risk through to energisation.

2. Power and community impact are fused. Amsterdam's moratorium cites electricity supply, land, water and housing together. A separate case reinforces the grid dimension: Microsoft scrapped the UK's largest data-centre project after local electricity officials revealed the site would not be connected to power until the 2030s. Grid readiness and community acceptance are now being weighed together.

3. Siting strategy must diversify by jurisdiction type. The Harwood exception suggests that not every locality is hostile, and the moratorium tracker shows restrictions concentrated in specific states. Developers will need jurisdiction-level scoring rather than state-level assumptions. A mapping effort of data-centre regulations across US states and localities was shared on Hacker News in late October, a sign that practitioners are building tooling for this, though that post is an unverified signal (Hacker News).

4. Engagement may matter more than litigation. Lopsided margins in several votes, such as 78 percent in Bloomington and 88 percent in Morgan County (State Capital Lobbyist) and 90.3% in Nottingham (Ballotpedia), leave little room for a purely legal strategy. Early community consultation and transparent commitments on power and water are plausible levers. This is an editorial inference from the vote margins, not a finding reported in the sources.

5. Watch the leading indicators. The Loudoun County vote on 17 November, any follow-through on a federal moratorium, and the scale of the next coordinated European protest wave will show whether this is a cycle or a regime change.

— InekIA editorial team