Data center ballot issue falling short

VW independent staff

It seems highly unlikely that a proposed constitutional amendment to ban data centers over 25 megawatts will be on the statewide ballot this November.

According to a report published by cleveland.com, after six weeks of collecting signatures and with a July 1 deadline looming, Conserve Ohio says it has gathered about 27,000 signatures. That’s about about six percent of what’s needed to place the issue before voters in the fall.  

To get an issue such as this one on the ballot, signatures are required from 10 percent of the votes cast for governor in the most recent election, in this case, approximately 413,000 by the July 1 deadline. Those signatures must come from registered voters and must come from at least 44 of Ohio’s 88 counties. Organizers with most big campaigns gather far more signatures as a cushion because often times, many are declared invalid for a variety of reasons.

The story said at the current pace of roughly 5,000 signatures per week, it would take Conserve Ohio well over a year to reach the minimum threshold and even longer to build the cushion campaigns typically need to survive Ohio’s signature verification process.

The story also notes it typically costs $2 million to $3 million to get something on the statewide ballot. The bulk of the money goes toward hiring professionals to gather signatures.

While the issue mostly likely won’t be on this November’s ballot, it doesn’t mean it’s over. Conserve Ohio could continue to gather signatures to place on a future ballot. However, those signatures would still be subject to Ohio’s rigid verification laws.

It’s believed that if the issue does make it to a future ballot and is approved, the ban wouldn’t apply to large data centers that are already operational or under construction.