Port Washington Voters Approve Data Center Tax Vote Measure

Voters in Port Washington, Wisconsin, approved a ballot measure on Tuesday requiring city officials to seek public approval for any future tax incentives exceeding $10 million for large development projects, marking the first such referendum in the United States aimed at data centers.

The measure passed by a roughly two-to-one margin, with 2,710 votes in favor and 1,371 against, according to preliminary results. More than half of the city's 8,257 registered voters participated. Organized by the resident-led group Great Lakes Neighbors United, the initiative responds to local concerns over a planned $15 billion artificial intelligence data center campus on the city's north side. The project, developed by Vantage Data Centers in partnership with OpenAI and Oracle, received $458 million in tax increment financing from city leaders in November 2025 despite public opposition. While the referendum does not halt construction on this facility, set to begin soon and complete by 2028, it establishes a safeguard for similar future endeavors.

Residents have raised alarms about the environmental and economic impacts of data centers, which demand vast amounts of electricity and water for...