Free Greenville

Your Money, Your Rights

For years, Greenville County and its municipalities have allowed the proliferation of ALPR mass surveillance devices with barely a shred of democratic oversight. Now Greenville County and the cities of Greenville, Simpsonville, Mauldin, and Travelers Rest have placed 1% sales tax referendums on November's ballot.

The lesson is clear: Your elected representatives care more about getting their hands on your money than about protecting your Constitutional right to live day-to-day without near-continual police surveillance.

Make them care.

Previous tax proposals have failed at the ballot, and the councils asking for sales taxes this year are expecting passage by small margins. Protect your rights by denying them that margin: Say "NO" to surrendering any more of your money to any local government that does not ban the use ALPR cameras within its jurisdiction.

No Taxes for Surveillance

The taxes proposed by these local governments are billed as investments in transportation and infrastructure. It is true that Greenville County is growing quickly, and maintaining the infrastructure to support that growth isn't free.

The fact remains, however, that by permitting unchecked proliferation of ALPR cameras (commonly lumped together under the "Flock" brand), these leaders have demonstrated that they are not worthy stewards of the public's trust -- or its money. Greenville city alone has spent at least $200,000 of your money on ALPR cameras, but now they claim they need more of your money to fix the roads.

No surveillance state is worth its citizens' investment.

Simply put, we cannot and must not trust yet more tax money to representatives who are unable or unwilling to protect our basic 4th Amendment rights. On November 3rd, vote to reject "penny tax" proposals for any local government that does not pass a ban on ALPR cameras.

Demand a ban

A ban on ALPR cameras is the only resolution that respects your fundamental rights.

Administrative actions, like covering the cameras or allowing contracts to lapse, can be undone the day after a successful tax vote. Tell your representatives that you demand official ordinances banning ALPR cameras, so that any future reversal will require the public debate and vote that our Constitutional democracy entitles you to. The ban must be by function, not by brand, so that one form of camera (e.g., Flock) isn't simply replaced by another (e.g. Axon, Motorola, Rekor, or others).