Greetings!

As you know, citizens across Greenville County have an important choice to make this November — to vote whether to approve a countywide "penny tax" to fund three critical community priorities: fixing the roads, protecting land and water, and improving transit. 

Early voting kicked off statewide on October 19 and will run through October 31. See HERE for early voting locations.

The county's penny tax issue will appear as two questions on the ballot. See HERE for anticipated ballot language. The first question asks about imposing a sales tax for not more than eight years and outlines projects to be funded. The second relates to issuing general obligation bonds to complete projects described in question one.

Your vote is critical on this important issue, so make sure you've scheduled time to head to the polls and vote YES to both!

Still uncertain or have questions about the county's penny tax? Join One Greenville, County Council Chairman Benton Blount, and other county representatives for a virtual meeting on Monday, October 26 at 7:30 pm. Register HERE!

Note: City residents in Greenville, Mauldin, Simpsonville, and Travelers Rest will also see a separate municipal tax relief question on their ballots. If you live within one of these municipalities, click that municipality to learn more.

What a YES vote in November could mean for Greenville County

Each day, more and more people are moving to Greenville County. In fact, the population has nearly doubled since 1990. 

Greenspace is disappearing at an astonishing rate as farms and forests are converted to subdivisions and strip malls. Roads are crumbling, congestion is increasingly the norm, and transit service is woefully underfunded.

Adoption of a countywide penny sales tax in November would be an absolute game changer — nearly $1 billion to fix the roads, up to $77 million for land and water protection, and up to $33 million to improve transit service.

Of these revenues — roughly just 35% will come from county residents, with the rest collected from visitors, out-of-county shoppers, businesses, and institutions. Not only that, unprepared food, prescription medication, and motor fuel will be exempt. You can learn more about the penny sales tax at VoteYesGVL. 

If you don't vote early, be sure to do so on November 3rd from 7:00 am to 7:00 pm. You can find your election day polling site HERE. 

Voting YES in November could mean a huge win for protecting the county's most critical natural assets, expanding mobility options, and improving quality of life!

Best regards,

Sherry Barrett

Land Policy Director