Charleston County voters will decide on a half-penny transportation tax in November

Charleston County voters are scheduled to decide Nov. 3 whether to continue the county’s half-cent transportation sales tax after the current program is expected to finish collecting revenue in 2027.

Charleston County Council approved the ordinance’s third and final reading on July 21. The proposed continuation is not enacted yet; voters must approve it during the 2026 statewide general election. County staff must submit the approved ballot language to the South Carolina Election Commission by Aug. 17.

What the proposed tax would fund

If approved, the tax is projected to generate approximately $4.25 billion over 25 years. The county’s approved funding plan divides that estimate among three broad categories:

• $2.7 billion for roadway infrastructure
• $858 million for public transit
• $690 million for the Greenbelt Program

Roads would receive the largest share of the projected revenue, followed by transit and greenbelt preservation. The amounts are estimates over the life of the program, not guaranteed collections.

The measure would continue an existing half-cent transportation sales tax rather than add a new full-cent sales tax. The current tax was approved in 2004, and county projections indicate collections from that program will end in 2027.

Changes made before final approval

The final project list differs from earlier versions considered during the county’s planning process. The approved changes include $17 million for a noise wall at the Palmetto Commerce Interchange and $2 million for bicycle and pedestrian improvements along Huger Street.

The final plan also removes $12 million for Ladson Road at Miles Jamison Road and removes $5 million that had been assigned to railroad-overpass preliminary engineering. Funding for the Downtown Route Study was reduced by $2 million.

The county’s ballot language says projects should consider bicycle, pedestrian and public transit access where contextually appropriate. That language does not guarantee that every individual project will include those features.

Why the November vote matters

The referendum is a revised version of a similar transportation-tax measure that failed in 2024. The new proposal gives Charleston County voters another decision about how future sales-tax revenue should be directed among roads, transit and land preservation.

The countywide project list includes work affecting multiple communities, so the measure is not limited to the City of Charleston. Residents, commuters, businesses and property owners can review the Charleston County Transportation newsroom and its project materials before voting.

The next immediate milestone is the Aug. 17 deadline for submitting the ballot language to the state Election Commission. If the ballot process proceeds as planned, Charleston County voters will see the transportation-tax question on the Nov. 3 general-election ballot.

Sources

• Charleston County Council transportation sales-tax approval release
• South Carolina Election Commission 2026 election calendar
• Charleston County Transportation newsroom
• Charleston City Paper coverage