AIKEN --- The referendum to merge Graniteville, Vaucluse and Warrenville into one incorporated municipality failed Tuesday.

The referendum received only 763 votes of the 2,129 ballots that were cast.

The nearly 40 people who were gathered at the Aiken County Council building quietly left after the vote totals were made public.

Charles Hilton, the chairman of the incorporation study committee, had little comment. "It's been a long day," he said.

Efforts to incorporate have been ongoing for more than two years, since the Graniteville train wreck crippled the community economy.

Mr. Hilton has said in making the case for incorporation that the residents living in the 23.7-square-mile area were missing out on money such as funds from state-shared revenue and the local option sales tax that could have helped in the area's recovery.

"The people of GVW have spoken, and the decision rests upon not only those who cast their votes but even upon those who did not," Mr. Hilton said in a statement. "Only time will tell if the decision made today is the best for those who follow us."

Incorporation was a hot button issue that had 57.35 percent of the 3,712 eligible registered voters casting their ballot, and it was an issue that even brought attention from state lawmakers.

State Sen. Greg Ryberg, a Republican whose district includes Aiken County but not the area involved in the incorporation effort, has questioned the role of a nonprofit agency in the initiative.

Earlier this month, the state Department of Revenue said it was reviewing whether the Lower Savannah Council of Governments acted properly by working on behalf of supporters of incorporation.

Mr. Ryberg also asked the department to consider the council's refusal to reveal a complete list of donors to the incorporation effort.

The council has said its work on behalf of the anonymous, pro-incorporation donors is standard activity.