Happy Thursday!

🌤️ Today's weather: Mostly sunny, with a high in the 60s.

🥂 On this day in 1918, Ohio voters approved statewide prohibition — they changed their minds in 1933.

Sounds like: "Get Off Of My Cloud" by the Rolling Stones.

Today’s newsletter is 969 words — a 3.5-minute read.

Voters across the country reaffirmed that data center construction projects are one of the most unpopular topics in politics — and nowhere shot them down more prolifically Tuesday than Ohio.

Why it matters: As Democrats and Republicans seek answers for what helped and hurt their parties in Election Day's "blue tsunami," voter pushback to data centers has proven to be a bipartisan concern.

The latest: Per Ballotpedia, voters nationwide saw 41 data center-related ballot issues.

• Some issues created prohibitions, moratoriums or restrictions, while others requested rezonings or approval of planned projects.
• The Buckeye State was the epicenter of data center pushback, with 21 of those 41 nationwide issues located in Ohio communities.

The results: Nearly every vote across the country went against data centers, per the Ballotpedia tally — only a Harwood, North Dakota, issue appears to have bucked the trend.

In Central Ohio, five communities voted on issues related to data centers:

• Ashville overturned a resolution allowing for an EdgeConneX data center with 82% of the vote.
• Grove City's Issue 28 will require a referendum on any large-scale developments using large amounts of water or land, and passed with 55% of the vote.
• Granville, Pataskala and Sunbury banned data centers that use 25 megawatts or more, each with at least 74% of the vote.

What they're saying: Grove City organizer Jen Belt tells Axios her "Protect Grove City" group is "so very encouraged" by results across the state.

• "We do think people are broadly saying 'no' to data centers and will continue to do whatever it takes to protect their neighborhoods, families and properties."

Between the lines: AI growth is forging ahead — but companies will need to figure out how to build the required infrastructure while data centers are a losing issue.

• "I do not work for the utility companies. I do not work for data centers," U.S. Sen.-elect Sherrod Brown said in his victory speech Tuesday night.

School districts in Central Ohio and elsewhere across the state struggled to convince voters to approve new sources of funding in the recent election and now face difficult financial decisions.

Why it matters: Districts are increasingly reliant on funding sources like property and income taxes — additional expenses that many financially strapped voters said were too much to bear this election.

The latest: Of 134 statewide ballot issues tracked by the Ohio School Boards Association for the Nov. 3 ballot, just over half passed.

Zoom in: Voters in a dozen Central Ohio districts faced levies or bonds, and only four were approved or are on track to pass.

• South-Western City Schools was the only successful issue in Franklin County — its bond issue didn't increase taxes and passed with 66% of the vote.
• Issues for Jefferson and Miami Trace lead by small margins, while the Delaware Area Career Center also passed.

Threat level: Chillicothe, Mount Vernon, Pickerington and Southwest Licking have now experienced multiple failed issues in a row.

• Pickerington's board president says the district faces deep cuts.
• Southwest Licking's superintendent says cuts could be "catastrophic."

Between the lines: Funding from ballot issues has become critical for districts amid reduced state funding.

• The state's average share of Ohio's funding formula is 32% in FY2027, down from 43% as recently as FY2024, per Ohio Department of Education and Workforce data reported by NBC4.
• An August analysis from the Ohio Association of School Business Officials found that 39% of districts will have an operating deficit ratio above 2% in FY2027. The association projects that to grow to 86% by FY2030.

🗳 Democrats fared well in Ohio's executive races after years of GOP control, with victors John Kulewicz (attorney general), Allison Russo (secretary of state) and Seth Walsh (treasurer).

• Republican Frank LaRose prevailed in the state auditor race. (Signal Ohio)

⚖️ Democrats Marilyn Zayas and Jennifer Brunner appear to have swept their Ohio Supreme Court races, giving the court a 5-2 Republican advantage. (Ohio Capital Journal)

Ricky Anderson, the former Columbus police officer who shot and killed Donavan Lewis in his bed in 2022, was sentenced to three years probation after pleading guilty to reckless homicide. (Dispatch)

It's now been a month since Ohio's gas tax holiday went into effect — and prices are now even more expensive at many pumps.

Why it matters: The break was meant to provide relief to cost-conscious drivers, though a gas price expert warned at the time that broader factors could still lead prices to fluctuate.

Catch up quick: Ohio drivers normally pay 38.5 cents per gallon of gas to pay for infrastructure needs.

• Lawmakers passed a 90-day tax holiday on Sept. 30, with the statewide average being $4.24 per gallon on that date, according to AAA.
• It was $3.97 on Oct. 4, when the break went into effect, and prices continued to drop in the days that followed.

Yes, but: Ohio's average was back up to $4.03 as of yesterday, per AAA.

• The Columbus metro average stood at $4.07 yesterday — up from $3.94 a month ago — while Franklin County averaged $4.05.

What they're saying: Patrick De Haan, the head of petroleum analysis at GasBuddy, had cautioned against expecting prices to keep falling in a straight line.

• "The gas tax holiday does not freeze changes in the world," he told us early last month.

Thanks to Tyler Buchanan for editing today's newsletter.

Our picks:

📴 Alissa is off.

👶 Andrew can't stop comparing his jabbering toddler to the iconic Biddy Blas.

🙄 Tyler is reading about the Collins Dictionary word of the year.