FOR A BETTER CHARLESTON COUNTY VOTE NO TAX
This November, Charleston County residents have the chance to improve our quality-of-life by voting NO on the 25-year, $5.4 billon transportation sales tax referendum.
Despite the hefty price tag, the tax would severely underfund projects that provide safer and less congested roads, improve transit, and preserve greenspace.
A NO vote means...
- Tax relief. If passed, inflation-weary residents would continue to be taxed at 9%, the highest rate in the state. Half of that would simply be to pay for the Mark Clark Extension.
- Reining in overdevelopment and the resulting traffic congestion. The Mark Clark Extension will supercharge the overdevelopment of Johns Island and this development will spillover into James Island and West Ashley. As a result, traffic congestion will be even worse, similar to what happened in Mount Pleasant when I-526 was completed.
- Regaining trust in Charleston County. In 2016 voters approved a $2.1 billion transportation sales tax. In the 8 years since, the County has only completed 1 of the 17 projects. Of the remaining projects they defunded 2 of them and pushed 3 of them into the 2024 tax. The County needs to show that they can actually perform on road projects before residents give them even more money.
- Improving our quality-of-life. Development in Charleston County has far outpaced our transportation infrastructure. To improve the quality-of-life for all residents, we desperately need to improve our roads and mass transit infrastructure as well as to conserve more greenspace. This tax does not do this.
- Providing adequate time to get it right. There is no rush to pass a tax. The County can come back in two years, without any impact on current or future road, mass transit or greenbelt programs, and address the traffic issues residents see every day.
The Ballot Questions
There are two sales tax questions on the ballot: one for the $5.4 billion tax itself and one for bonding $1 billion of that money. The questions, as written, exclude important information that would help inform voters of what they are actually voting on. This annotated version of the ballot addresses this shortcoming.
Download the annotated ballot language here.
Checkout our Facts vs. Fiction page to learn more about this $5.4 billion sales tax.
To register to vote or to find your polling location, go to https://scvotes.gov/.
The "Local Questions" are at the very end of the ballot. Please make it all the way to the end and vote NO.
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