REALTOR® Voter Guide
Municipal elections are November 4. Early voting is underway and ends October 30. Visit www.SCVotes.gov to find your polling place.
Your REALTORS® Association has prepared a Voter Guide to help you evaluate the candidates and issues. You can download the REALTOR® Voter Guide by clicking here.
Around the Western Upstate, 15 cities and towns will hold elections for 5 mayors and 44 council and commission seats. Plus, some voters will consider ballot questions including a referendum on a penny sales tax for roads in Anderson County.
Three Zoning Referendums in Anderson County
Anderson County Council placed referendums on the ballot in three voting precincts on whether zoning should be implemented. Those precincts are:
Anderson County uses a method that requires 15% of the voters in a voting precinct to sign a petition requesting a referendum. If the referendum is approved, county council can approve zoning. That’s what is happening in these three precincts. Two other precincts held referendums earlier this year and one more held a referendum last year.
WUAR’s Position on Zoning
Zoning is a process where property owners agree to limit the use of their property so that neighboring property owners can reasonably enjoy the use of their property. Our government is the referee.
Zoning often gets a bad rap, but sometimes criticism is for good reasons. Whether or not you like zoning, it provides a fair and affordable method for property owners to settle disputes about the density and intensity of land uses around them.
The bad rap often results from absence of zoning. Most of Anderson County is unzoned. Property owners, who oppose zoning, still seek to regulate the use of the properties around them—zone thee, not me.
Your association’s position on zoning is that we neither support nor oppose zoning, we simply advocate for a fair and level playing field where the rules are clear. You can read our policy paper on zoning by clicking here.
VOTE
If you haven’t already done so, vote early by Friday or make plans to VOTE on November 4. But before you vote, click here for the REALTOR® Voter Guide and learn about the candidates and issues.
You and your association can influence how your government affects you and regulates your industry. NAR data tells us that more than 90 percent of Realtors are registered to vote. Imagine the influence Realtors could have if all Realtors became educated about the candidates and issues and VOTED.
Support RPAC
You can help your industry by supporting RPAC. It’s easy. Your association includes a voluntary contribution to RPAC on your annual dues invoice. Pay it, and you are an RPAC supporter. If you haven’t supported RPAC this year, I encourage you to do so by clicking here.
Michael Dey, Director of Government Affairs