Voters in Texas agree: They hate data centers

<figure> <img alt="Greg Abbott, Gina Hinojosa, James Talarico, and Ken Paxton in the shape of Texas with glitchy effects." data-caption="" data-portal-copyright="Image: Cath Virginia / The Verge, Getty Images" data-has-syndication-rights="1" src="https://platform.theverge.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/10/268813_TEXAS_DATA_CENTERS_CVirginia.jpg?quality=90&#038;strip=all&#038;crop=0,0,100,100" /> <figcaption> </figcaption> </figure> <p class="has-drop-cap wp-block-paragraph">Ask Texas NAACP president Gary Bledsoe what it's been like to see data center developers descend upon Austin and its surrounding suburbs and he can rattle off project after project facing opposition from locals.</p> <p class="wp-block-paragraph">There's the <a href="https://spectrumlocalnews.com/tx/south-texas-el-paso/news/2026/10/05/taylor-data-center-investigation">fight in Taylor</a> over plans to build a data center at a site that's supposed to be a park. Temple, around 40 miles away, is another sore spot, Bledsoe says. The mayor and City Council members there face <a href="https://spectrumlocalnews.com/tx/south-texas-el-paso/news/2026/08/04/recall-petition-in-response-to-data-centers">recall</a> <a href="https://www.kcentv.com/article/news/local/temple-recall-effort-against-mayor-davis-and-council-members-falls-short-of-needed-signatures/500-70af88ad-4e48-4bce-8d0a-2c8ff2e7fc50">attempts</a> over data center developments. And some 30 miles outside of Austin, San Marcos became the first <a href="https://www.usatoday.com/story/money/business/2026/06/30/texas-data-centers-san-marcos-ban-opposition-poll-state-regulations/90750494007/">city in all of Texas to ban data centers</a>.</p> <p class="wp-block-paragraph">Nowhere in the world are data centers growing more explosively than …</p> <p><a href="https://www.theverge.com/ai-artificial-intelligence/1018676/data-center-midterm-election-energy-water-texas">Read the full story at The Verge.</a></p>