Ashville Data Center Referendum: What the Pickaway County Board of Elections Must Decide
A proposed EdgeConneX data center in Ashville, Ohio, faces a citizen referendum challenging the village's development agreement with the company. The Ohio Supreme Court ordered the referendum petition to proceed to the Pickaway County Board of Elections, which must now decide if the Ashville Village Council's action was legislative or administrative, a key factor in whether the referendum will go to a public vote. The dispute centers on whether the agreement established new policy, including exempting the project from an existing data center moratorium.
The battle over a proposed EdgeConneX data center in Ashville, Ohio, has escalated to the Pickaway County Board of Elections. The Board is tasked with determining the legality of a citizen referendum challenging the village's agreement with the company, specifically whether the Ashville Village Council's Resolution 06-2026 was a legislative or administrative action.
This follows an Ohio Supreme Court order directing Ashville Fiscal Officer April Grube to certify the referendum petition, overturning the village's initial attempt to block it. However, the Supreme Court explicitly left the crucial legislative vs. administrative distinction unresolved, a decision that will dictate if Ashville residents get to vote on the data center project.
Referendum supporters argue that Resolution 06-2026 went beyond merely applying existing law, creating a special legal and policy framework for the EdgeConneX project. A key provision cited is the exemption of the EdgeConneX data center from Ashville's existing data center moratorium. The village, however, contends that its action was administrative, simply negotiating an agreement under existing governmental authority.
The Pickaway County Board of Elections, having already verified over 669 valid signatures for the petition, is expected to address this issue at its next meeting. The outcome will decide whether the EdgeConneX agreement proceeds to a public vote or if the village council's action is deemed administrative, thereby bypassing the referendum process. This case could establish a precedent for how other Ohio communities handle agreements with data center developers.