Overview
- Harwood voters rejected the Home Rule Charter amendment on Tuesday, Nov. 7, 2026, by about 75 percent, with 325 of 430 ballots opposing the measure.
- The rejected amendment would have required independent reviews and public hearings for large industrial projects and added procedural steps for approvals in Harwood.
- The vote removes a barrier to a 160-acre Applied Digital data-center campus near town that names Oracle as the planned end user and could expand beyond its initial footprint.
- Local officials, the regional chamber of commerce, and campaign materials warned the amendment would raise administrative costs and risk losing expected tax revenue, while activists said residents had little notice and cited nondisclosure agreements and changed ballot language.
- The result stands out as the only pro-project outcome among about 45 nationwide data-center ballot measures this cycle and leaves open questions about transparency, grid upgrades, and possible future expansion to watch for in the region.