Judge Blocks Yellowstone County Data Center Ballot Initiative

Judge Ed Zink of Yellowstone County denied a request by Kassi Solberg to continue gathering signatures for a ballot initiative that would require two-thirds voter approval for all data center developments in the county.

The ruling, issued Tuesday, determined that the deadline for collecting the required 16,650 signatures passed on July 13. This decision came despite county officials previously informing Solberg that the deadline was August 12. Judge Zink described the misinformation provided by the county as "regrettable" but ruled it insufficient to overturn the decision.

Zink noted that Solberg had only collected 7,706 signatures by August 3, making it unlikely she would have met the threshold regardless of the date. The initiative was driven by opposition to a proposed 5,000-acre data center by Quantica near Broadview, with critics citing concerns over water depletion and increased electricity costs for ratepayers.