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MACHINE AGE CARTOON

THE TOWNS SAID NO

By Zimbo · November 4, 2026

AI cartoon by Zimbo: Satirical cartoon: a giant gray DATA CENTER building strapped onto a flatbed truck rolls out of a small town while cheerful residents wave goodbye beside red NO signs marked 74%, 82% and 80%.
Voters in 29+ jurisdictions just passed bans or limits on large data centers — Pataskala 74%, Granville 82%, Trenton 80%. The AI buildout met the ballot box, and the ballot box won.Zimbo for AI News Page

The story behind the cartoon

On November 3, voters across the United States used the ballot box against the AI buildout: measures limiting or banning large data centers passed in town after town, with the Washington Post reporting that voters in more than 29 jurisdictions overwhelmingly approved bans or restrictions.

Ohio was the epicenter. Voters in Pataskala backed a ban on data centers over 25 megawatts with about 74 percent of the vote, Granville passed its ban with about 82 percent, and Trenton approved Issue 17 with about 80 percent, according to unofficial county results reported by the Columbus Dispatch, the Newark Advocate and the Cincinnati Enquirer.

The margins were not close in most places: Sunbury passed its charter amendment with about 79 percent, Urbana with about 77 percent, and a referendum in Ashville aimed at halting an EdgeConneX project drew more than 83 percent against, the Dispatch reported. The results remain unofficial until county boards certify them.

The joke is the eviction itself: the data center does not get debated, regulated or studied — it gets packed up, strapped to a flatbed truck and waved out of town by the very residents who just voted it away, NO signs and all.

READ THE FULL REPORT — Techmeme ↗

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