华盛顿——在11月3日的选举中，美国数十个城镇的选民向数据中心发出了明确的反对信号——只有一个显著的例外。
Harwood, North Dakota, was the only town to back a measure against slowing data centre building. About three-fourths of voters rejected it, after officials and business leaders campaigned against the plan.
在北达科他州哈伍德，居民否决了一项旨在减缓数据中心等工业开发的措施。该镇约四分之三的选民——总共约430人——投了反对票。
The vote was tied to Applied Digital’s large data centre project, set to reach full capacity in 2027 on a 364ha site with Oracle as the planned customer. Opponents feared lost tax revenue and fewer business gains.
该投票倡议是针对Applied Digital公司计划在镇上建设大型数据中心、并以Oracle为最终客户的计划而发起的。该项目计划于2027年达到满负荷运行，在一座占地364公顷的园区内仍有进一步扩建潜力。
Across the US, nearly all 45 local ballot measures on data centres won or were set to win. The results show growing voter anger over AI sites, higher utility bills, and lack of transparency. AI generated WASHINGTON – Voters in dozens of towns across the US sent a clear message against data centres in the Nov 3 elections – with one notable exception.
居民迈克尔·斯沃茨（Michael Swartz）领导了将该提案列入选票的工作，他说，在该镇约800名居民于2025年9月得知该项目不到一个月后，施工便已开始。
In Harwood, North Dakota, residents blocked a measure aimed at slowing industrial developments like data centres. About three-fourths of the town’s voters – around 430 in total – went against the proposal.
他的组织“哈伍德之声”（Voices of Harwood）在三天内收集了91个签名，是获得资格所需40份的两倍多。尽管如此，他们最初的热情在11月3日的投票中未能转化为选票，因为该镇市长和当地商会敦促选民否决该措施。
The ballot initiative was in response to a plan for Applied Digital to build a large data centre in town with Oracle as an ultimate customer. The project is scheduled to reach full capacity in 2027 with potential to expand further on a 364ha campus. Construction began less than a month after residents in the town of roughly 800 found out about the project in September 2025, said Michael Swartz, who led efforts to get the proposal added to the ballot. His group, known as Voices of Harwood, gathered 91 signatures in three days, more than twice the 40 needed to qualify.
市议员克里斯·希金斯（Chris Higgins）在接受采访时表示，如果该倡议通过，可能会促使Applied Digital寻求将其项目从哈伍德脱离合并，从而可能危及该市的税收收入。
Still, their initial enthusiasm failed to manifest at the polls on Nov 3, after the town’s mayor and local chamber of commerce urged voters to reject the measure. If the initiative had passed, it could have prompted Applied Digital to seek to de-annex its project from Harwood, potentially imperiling the city’s tax revenue, Councilman Chris Higgins said in an interview.
“如果这个项目要推进，我们要确保城市受益，”他说，并补充说该提案可能会损害试图在镇上扩张的其他企业。
“If this project was going to happen, we want to make sure the city benefits,” he said, adding that the proposal could have hurt other businesses trying to expand in the town.
考虑到官方反对的力度，施瓦茨对该措施失败并不感到惊讶。镇方在选票上用来描述他提案的措辞，“甚至我都会投反对票，”他说。
Given the level of official opposition, Swartz is not surprised the measure failed. With the language the town used on the ballot to describe his measure, “even I would’ve voted no,” he said.
“所有这些因素都在对你不利，但作为一场草根运动，我们没有资金，”他说，并指出他用自己的钱来组织和宣传这项倡议。
“You’ve got all those things working against you, but as a grassroots movement we don’t have the capital,” he said, noting that he used his own money for organising and advertising the initiative.
哈伍德的结果是美国大选中的一个异常值，选民对数据中心的不满塑造了全国关键竞选的结果。根据Redbud Consulting的分析，至少有45项投票措施——主要在市政层面——聚焦于是否允许数据中心开发。
The results in Harwood were an outlier in a US election where voter frustration with data centres shaped the outcomes of key contests across the country. There were at least 45 ballot measures – largely at the municipal level – focused on whether to allow data centre development, according to an analysis by Redbud Consulting.
截至11月4日，即投票结束近一天后，几乎所有措施要么已通过，要么有望获批。
Nearly all of the measures had either passed or were poised to win approval as of Nov 4, nearly a day after polls closed.
在11月3日的投票后，数据中心开发商正面临可能出台新的业务限制这一最坏情况。除了地方措施外，民主党人在得克萨斯州、佐治亚州和俄亥俄州等多个州的州长选举中获胜，他们在竞选期间主张加强对科技基础设施的监管。
Data centre developers are now grappling with a worst-case scenario of possible new restrictions on their business after the Nov 3 vote. In addition to the local measures, Democrats won gubernatorial races in several states including Texas, Georgia and Ohio after campaigning for tougher oversight of tech infrastructure.
得克萨斯州当选民主党州长吉娜·伊诺霍萨呼吁立即暂停数据中心项目，直到制定出更全面的监管规定。
Gina Hinojosa, the Democratic governor-elect in Texas, has called for an immediate moratorium on data centre projects until more thorough regulation is developed.
选票箱里对数据中心的反弹反映了人工智能如何成为一个敏感的政治议题，选民担心这些设施推高当地公用事业账单，且往往在缺乏透明度的情况下建设。奎尼皮亚克大学9月的一项民调发现，72%的选民会反对在其社区建设新的数据中心。
Backlash at the ballot box to data centres reflected how AI has emerged as a hot-button political issue, with voters concerned that the facilities drive up local utility bills and are often constructed with little transparency. A Quinnipiac University poll in September found that 72% of voters would oppose a new data centre in their community.
在哈伍德，该镇位于法戈郊外、紧邻明尼苏达州边界，施瓦茨推动的投票倡议演变成了支持者与反对者之间持续一年的针锋相对之战。
In Harwood, located outside Fargo along the Minnesota border, the ballot initiative pushed by Swartz turned into a year-long tit-for-tat battle between supporters and opponents of the project.
据当地媒体《InForum》报道，市长布莱克·汉基曾反对该措施，称其将给开发设置障碍，并为数据中心辩护，称其是税收来源。该地区的商会建议居民投票反对该倡议，“让哈伍德保持对商业开放”，警告称如果通过将导致税收增加、市政厅官僚主义加剧。
Mayor Blake Hankey had opposed the measure, saying it would create barriers to development and defending the data centre as a source of tax revenue, according to local outlet InForum. The area’s chamber of commerce advised residents to vote against the initiative “to keep Harwood open for business,” warning of higher taxes and more bureaucracy at city hall if it passed.
施瓦茨表示，“哈伍德之声”每发出一份邮寄宣传单，法戈-穆尔黑德-西法戈商会也会发出一份。
Swartz said that for every mailer sent by Voices of Harwood, the Fargo Moorhead West Fargo Chamber of Commerce sent one too.
时任市长蒂姆·马霍尼曾告诉当地新闻媒体KVRR，Applied Digital公司最初曾考虑在法戈建设园区，但因不愿接受法戈的建筑费和特许经营费，突然将目标转向了规模小得多的哈伍德镇。
Applied Digital had initially eyed Fargo for its campus but abruptly shifted to the much smaller town of Harwood after balking at Fargo’s building and franchise fees, then-Mayor Tim Mahoney told local news outlet KVRR.
在全美范围内，活动人士正在努力推动数据中心限制措施进入特别选举投票，这紧随中期选举之后。但谈到在哈伍德再次尝试，施瓦茨表示：“我不知道我还能坚持多久。” BLOOMBERG
Across the country, activists are working to get special elections for data centre restrictions on ballots following the midterms, but when it comes to trying again in Harwood, Swartz said, “I don’t know how much more in the tank I have.”BLOOMBERG