As votes were tallied Tuesday night, it appeared that voters in two Northwest Arkansas counties were ready for retail alcoholic beverage sales for the first time since the 1940s.
Early, unofficial results for Benton County were: For . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .33,880 Against. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17,386
With 8 of 20 precincts reporting, the unofficial results for Madison County were: For . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1,857 Against. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1,306
The wet/dry issue was also on the ballot in Sharp County in northeast Arkansas.
With 26 of 26 precincts reporting, the unofficial results for Sharp County were: For . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .3,884 Against. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3,456
With Tuesday’s vote, if all three counties approve alcohol sales, the majority of Arkansas counties will be wet for the first time since the 1940s, said Michael Langley, director of the state’s Alcoholic Beverage Control Division. Previously, 35 of the state’s 75 counties were wet.
The ballot initiative in each county was for or against the “manufacture or sale of intoxicating liquors,” according to Arkansas Code Annotated3-8-206(a)(1). Besides package liquor stores, the vote in each county also will allow restaurants and bars to serve beer and wine without private club permits. The vote also will allow some grocery and convenience stores to sell beer and small-farm wines. Permits must be obtained through Alcoholic Beverage Control to sell beer, wine or liquor.
The liquor-sales effort in Benton County was spearheaded by Steuart and Tom Walton, two grandsons of Sam Walton - the founder of Wal-Mart Stores Inc. They were behind Keep Dollars in Benton County, a committee that raised $663,450 and spent $660,668 on the effort, and got more than 56,000 signatures from registered voters to put it on Tuesday’s ballot. The brothers each gave $299,500 to Keep Dollars in Benton County, according to an Oct. 31 filing with the Arkansas Ethics Commission.
“My brother Tom and I arevery pleased with the election result on the wet/dry initiative, and the fact that Benton County voters had an opportunity to be heard on this issue,” said Steuart Walton. “We do feel strongly that this outcome represents a significant economic opportunity for Benton County and our individual cities, so we are likewise pleased that all the tax revenues and potential new jobs involved here will now be staying in the county.”
With 133 private clubs, Benton County has been known asArkansas’ “wettest dry county.” The vote Tuesday will allow up to 55 liquor stores in the county. That’s one for every 4,000 residents.
Benton County Clerk Tena O’Brien said the county has been dry since at least 1947, when a special election was held on the issue.
The vote won’t allow for sale of mixed drinks at restaurants and bars that aren’t private clubs, but that could be accomplished in a referendum vote held at least six months later, according to Arkansas Code Annotated 3-9-208(a). Private clubs became legal in dry counties beginning in 1969 under another state law, Arkansas Code Annotated 3-9-222.
Private club owners in the newly wet counties could apply for liquor-by-the-drink permits and give up their private club designation, Langley said.
A group called Keep the Money in Madison Countyheld a similar petition drive, gathering 3,430 valid signatures to get the issue on the ballot there. Bob Barton of Kingston spearheaded that effort.
Keep the Money in Madison County raised $10,177 and spent $9,915 for its alcohol-sales effort, according to its Oct. 29 filing with the Ethics Commission.
The effort was opposed by an organization called Citizens to Keep Madison County Safe.
Sunday liquor sales were on the ballot in four Northwest Arkansas cities: Springdale, Tontitown, Ozark and Lead Hill.
Early unofficial results in Springdale were: Against . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3,236 For . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3,225
Early unofficial results inTontitown for on-premise liquor sales on Sunday were: For . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 259 Against . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .171
Early unofficial results in Tontitown for off-premise liquor sales on Sunday were: For . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .229 Against . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 198
In Ozark, with 4 of 4 precincts reporting, the unofficial results were: For . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 595 Against . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .502
In Harrison, voters were deciding whether mixed-drink sales should be allowed in restaurants and bars. The county voted for retail alcohol sales in 2010.
With 4 of 4 precincts reporting, unofficial results for Harrison were: For . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2,545 Against . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2,306
In Barling, the wet/dry issue was on Tuesday’s ballot, but whether the vote will count has been a matter of debate. That’s because the petition drive to get it on the ballot needed signatures from voters throughout the part of Sebastian County that isn’t within the city limits of Fort Smith.
With 2 of 4 precincts reporting, the unofficial results in Barling were: For . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 633 Against . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 343
Barling City Director Bruce Farrar, who led the petition drive, collected signatures only from registered voters in Barling. Therefore, the number of signatures he submitted wasn’t sufficient to put the measure on the ballot, Langley said.
The county election commission placed the item on the ballot after it was certified bythe county clerk.
“Once the county clerk certifies a measure, we have to put it on the ballot,” said Jerry Huff, Sebastian County election coordinator.
If approved by voters, the issue would likely end up in court, said Farrar, Langley and Dan Shue, Sebastian County prosecutor.
The issue goes back to 1942 when Sebastian County voters approved Initiated Act 1, which stated that the upper district - consisting of Fort Smith - would be wet and that the lower district - all of the county outside Fort Smith - would be dry, according to documents Shue provided.
On the basis of that act, the Arkansas Supreme Court ruled in January 1947 that oncea county or district voted to bar liquor sales, no other part of the district could decide separately to allow them.
The case originated in Crawford County, which voted to bar alcohol sales in 1944. Then, voters in Van Buren’s Ward 1 submitted a petition for an election to allow such sales in their ward, Shue said.
The county judge decided to allow the election, but a resident appealed the county judge’s decision. The state Supreme Court ruled in the resident’s favor, stating that since the entire county voted to bar alcohol sales, Ward 1 could not hold an election on whether liquor could be sold in that ward, the documents show.
Shue said he found the background court case after someone told him in late August that there was a problem with the Barling alcohol petition.
Northwest Arkansas, Pages 11 on 11/07/2012