COLUMBUS, Ohio — Ohio voters will decide more local ballot questions about data centers this year than voters in any other state, with 20 of the 38 such measures nationwide appearing on Ohio ballots, according to figures cited by state and local advocates. The measures take different approaches. In Sunbury, Granville and Pataskala, proposed charter amendments would ban data centers whose monthly demand exceeds 25 megawatts. A “yes” vote would change each community’s charter, its local governing document. The threshold would leave room for smaller facilities, including those serving large universities or hospital systems, said attorney Nick Owens, who is involved with the statewide effort Conserve Ohio. Owens said residents in communities with charter governments can use petitions to seek limits on data centers. The proposals in those three cities use ballot language developed by Conserve Ohio. Grove City’s Issue 28 would not ban data centers. Instead, it would require a public vote on certain large developments that meet any one of three tests: covering more than 50 acres, using more than 500,000 gallons of water per day, or drawing more than 20 megawatts of power. “When a developer comes here” and meets one of those thresholds, voters would have to weigh in, said Jen Belt of Protect Grove City, a group supporting the measure. In Ashville, voters will decide whether to uphold or reverse local approval of an Edgeconnex data center project. A “yes” vote would keep the approval in place; a “no” vote would repeal it. The measures arrive as communities across the country debate how to manage the rapid expansion of data centers, which support digital services but can require substantial land, electricity and water. The Ohio ballot questions offer residents several ways to weigh in: block some facilities, require public approval for projects meeting specified thresholds, or reconsider a particular project decision. Early voting for the midterm elections was scheduled to begin one week after the measures were highlighted on Sept. 29.