Johnson County voters will decide for the first time in more than 80 years whether to allow alcohol sales in the county.
A group calling itself Keep Our Dollars in Johnson County gathered enough signatures to get the issue on the Nov. 8 general election ballot.
County Clerk Michelle Frost issued a letter Wednesday stating the group submitted 5,441 signatures of registered Johnson County voters, exceeding the 5,428 required to qualify the issue for the ballot.
The group needed the signatures of 38 percent of registered voters in the county to qualify the issue for the ballot.
"The people of Johnson County have long deserved the chance to weigh in on this issue and we are glad that they are finally going to have that opportunity," Keep Our Dollars in Johnson County spokesman Susan Edens said in a news release.
She said in the release that the response to the yearlong petition drive showed that residents recognized the effect alcohol sales can have on the economy and that they want to keep their dollars in their community.
The organization submitted petitions to the clerk July 18, but after counting the valid registered voters who signed the petitions, the group was 477 signatures short. It submitted additional petitions Sunday to reach the required number of signatures.
Backers of the group Keep Our Dollars in Crawford County submitted petitions to the Crawford County Clerk late Wednesday as part of their drive to put the issue before county voters.
County Clerk Teresa Armer said her office has 10 days to go through the petitions and determine if the group has the necessary 12,110 signatures of registered voters to get the question on the ballot.
"We've got tons [of petitions]," Armer said Friday. "We're just getting started."
There were three women in the clerk's office Friday counting the 3,602 pages of petitions the group submitted. There were spaces for five signatures per page.
If all five spaces on a page were filled in, the total signatures submitted would be 18,010.
NW News on 08/14/2016