Data center bans in Pataskala and Sunbury will officially go before Licking County voters in November after the county Board of Elections certified its ballot, the Newark Advocate reported Aug. 17.

More measures could follow. Board of Elections staff expect additional municipalities to file charter amendment petitions targeting data centers before the filing deadline, according to the report. Residents in Newark, Heath and Granville were already organizing petition drives as of Aug. 14.

The stakes are direct for New Albany. The city's International Business Park straddles the Franklin-Licking county line, and New Albany collected $10 million in data center revenue from Licking County in 2025, as the Beacon reported Aug. 6. The city has been annexing land from Jersey Township in Licking County to expand the park, with multiple annexations approved by City Council in 2025 and 2026.

The certified measures in Pataskala and Sunbury originated from citizen-driven charter amendment campaigns and would prohibit data centers that use 25 megawatts of power per month. According to the Ohio Consumers' Counsel, a single hyperscale data center facility requires the same amount of power as 100,000 homes.

Residents pushed for the bans over concerns about noise, electricity and water consumption. Pataskala resident Leatrice Guttentag, who lives within a mile of a proposed data center, told NBC4 on Aug. 4: "They just don't belong near residents."

Pataskala City Administrator Tim Hickin said a public hearing on a data center project submitted before the ban was proposed is still scheduled for Aug. 25. Sunbury has also imposed a moratorium on data centers in addition to the ballot measure.

Mayor Sloan Spalding defended the city's data center development process at a Dec. 16, 2025, council meeting, saying deals were discussed openly and voted on in council chambers. New Albany launched a data center FAQ page in June 2026 stating it actively monitors water usage across the business park and that no companies there use groundwater from wells.

The November general election will determine whether Pataskala and Sunbury voters approve the bans. If additional petitions from Newark, Heath or Granville qualify, those communities could join the ballot as well.