DENVER — The national debate over hydraulic fracturing and oil and gas drilling found its way to ballots on Tuesday in several communities in Ohio and Colorado, where voters considered proposals to ban or restrict fracking.

With nearly all of the votes counted, unofficial results from county clerks showed the restrictions prevailing in three of four Colorado communities considering them, but failing in two of three Ohio cities.

Grassroots efforts to restrict fracking have put communities on a potential collision course with state officials and the energy industry. Ohio and Colorado say state officials – and not individual cities – are the ones with the power to regulate drilling. And industry groups have spent hundreds of thousands of dollars to fight the measures, arguing the bans would harm businesses and are potentially illegal.

“There’s no doubt that there are people concerned about being sued,” said Sam Schabacker, the Mountain West region director of Food and Water Watch, which is supporting the fracking restrictions in four Colorado communities. “It has a chilling effect. But the message I’ve gotten from people at the doors, is that this is worth getting sued over.”