Residents of Coweta County, Georgia, are organizing a petition drive aimed at forcing a referendum on a proposed data center project known as Project Sail. The effort would also seek to prohibit other data centers and cryptocurrency mining operations from moving forward in the rural area.

Organizers have held approximately a dozen petition-signing events over several weeks, including one at Morgan's Market that drew hundreds of participants despite rainy weather. As of Friday, petition organizers reported collecting about 6,500 signatures toward their goal of 14,000.

Coweta County, located less than an hour southwest of Atlanta, has a population of approximately 160,000 residents. Two-thirds of the county voted for Donald Trump in recent elections, reflecting the area's conservative political leanings.

If successful, the petition would make Coweta County potentially the third in Georgia's history to stage such a referendum, allowing residents to directly challenge a local government policy or decision through the ballot box.

The organizing effort represents growing community resistance to large-scale technology infrastructure projects in rural areas, as residents seek greater input on development decisions that could significantly impact their communities.