With Montana offering little state-level oversight of large data centers, residents in two counties are taking matters into their own hands — organizing petition drives that would require voter approval before any data center can be built or expanded in their communities.

Grassroots Response to Proposed Facilities

The movement began in Butte, where Denise Kelly, a local real estate broker, founded the nonprofit 406 People First in February after Washington-based Sabey Corporation announced plans to build a data center in Butte-Silver Bow County. Kelly and her organization drafted ballot language that would require a special election — with a two-thirds voter approval threshold — before any data center construction or expansion could proceed.

Sabey Corporation withdrew from its Butte agreement in May but is reportedly exploring other sites in southwest Montana, including elsewhere in Silver Bow County. Kelly says the threat hasn’t passed. “I think the majority of people in this country — not just Butte — don’t want data centers,” she said in a June 11 press release. “But I don’t know why the government, especially our local governments, aren’t listening to us.”

A parallel effort is underway in Yellowstone County, where Kassi Solberg, a Broadview homesteading mother of six, is spearheading an identical ballot initiative. The two drives share the same language and are being pursued simultaneously as three major data center proposals have surfaced across Montana — near Missoula, Butte, and Broadview.

Signature Thresholds and Deadlines

Both campaigns face steep signature requirements. Organizers in Butte-Silver Bow must collect 3,652 valid signatures, while Yellowstone County requires 16,560 — each representing 15 percent of registered voters in their respective jurisdictions. The Yellowstone County petition deadline is August 12, with a November ballot vote scheduled if petitions qualify.

The Broadview proposal driving much of the Yellowstone County opposition comes from Houston-based Quantica, which is proposing a “Big Sky Digital Infrastructure Campus” spanning 5,000 acres. The facility would generate 1,100 megawatts of power, and in May Quantica requested an additional 7,235 megawatts of capacity from NorthWestern Energy — a request that drew considerable public attention to the scale of the project.

Missoula County Weighing Its Own Decision

In Missoula County, existing local regulations mean the process is already further along. County officials are expected to rule in early July on a “Special Exception” permit application from Idaho-based Krambu for a data center facility near Bonner. A change.org petition opposing the Krambu permit had gathered more than 40,000 signatures as of the article’s publication date, reflecting broader public sentiment that has outpaced formal regulatory channels.

Missoula County’s existing framework puts it ahead of most Montana jurisdictions, where state oversight of data center development remains minimal. The contrast underscores why citizen advocates in Butte and Yellowstone County say they’ve turned to the ballot process rather than waiting for legislative action. The Montana Legislature meets only in odd-numbered years, meaning the next regular session won’t convene until January 2027. Any statutory changes to data center oversight would have to wait until then, or arise from a special session.

Broader Context

Anne Hedges, executive director of the Montana Environmental Information Center, framed the ballot efforts as a necessary check on what she called government inaction. “That is democracy,” she said. “When our government fails to do its job and protect people from this threat that has caused catastrophes across the country, then it’s up to the people to step up and demand that they be heard.”

The Montana organizing is part of a wider national pattern. An interactive map tracking U.S. data center facilities lists 4,761 facilities nationally, and communities from rural Virginia to the Pacific Northwest have mounted similar resistance efforts as power demands and land-use concerns mount.

Whether the Butte-Silver Bow and Yellowstone County drives can clear the signature thresholds will be a test of how broadly the sentiment extends beyond vocal activists. If both qualify, Montana voters could weigh in on the issue in November — well before the Legislature has a chance to set statewide policy. For related coverage of Montana land-use and environmental scrutiny, see the EPA Butte cleanup hearing at Montana Tech.