South Carolina’s budget this year is $42.7 billion.1 Every dollar of it is decided in rooms most of us will never sit in.
Part of that money was ours first. It came out of our paychecks before we saw it, and it was added at the register when we shopped. From there, other people make the decisions. Legislators write the budget, agencies spend it, and one office keeps the books.
We have our own lives to run, so we hire people to sit in those rooms for us. Today is the day we do the hiring.
The voting booth is the one room where you make the decision yourself. Your vote counts.
One of the jobs on your ballot is Comptroller General. The Comptroller General keeps the state’s books: what came in, what went out, and what is left. I’m Mike Burkhold. I am asking for your vote so I can count your money the way you counted it when it was yours and put the count where you can read it.
The polls are open from 7 this morning until 7 tonight. Bring your photo ID. You can find your polling place at scvotes.gov. If you have already voted, thank you. Send this to someone who has not.
South Carolina is a great state that can be the best-run in the country. You watched every dollar when it was yours. Today you decide who watches it next.
Next week: Our Next Steps
Last week: [Substack embedded preview card: Three Things My Office Will Do in Its First Year, October 27]
H.5126, the FY2026-27 General Appropriations Act as ratified August 11, 2026 (R.276; Act 259 of 2026), Part IA, Recapitulation, Source of Funds, page 265: grand total $42,693,837,462, made up of $13,989,981,021 in general funds, $14,036,525,486 in federal funds, and $14,667,330,955 in other funds. These are the amounts the act appropriates for the year that began July 1, 2026. They are not amounts spent.