Did Lexington County pass the penny road tax? Here are the current results
Voters in Lexington County had a $500 million decision to make on Tuesday.
A penny sales tax that would pave and widen roads and highways around the county, raising more than $500 million in the process, was on the ballot on Tuesday.
But opposition to the measure seemed set to prevail, with 55% voting “no” to 45% “yes,” when all precincts countywide reported at the end of Tuesday night. More than 8,000 votes separated a rejection of the penny tax from a new one.
A similar list of road projects was voted down in 2014, and county leaders this year tried to narrow the project list down to include only specific road improvements spread across the county so the list would have a broad base of support. Lexington County Council even stripped out some non-road projects from the submitted project list.
If approved, the vote will create a 1% sales tax in Lexington County that would go toward improving the county’s roadways.
Approval of the plan would mandate at least $536 million be spent on improving roadways around Lexington County, including repaving and widening efforts on some of the county’s busiest highways.
The penny tax would be collected for eight years, beginning in May 2023.
This story was originally published November 8, 2022 at 8:55 PM.
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