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Special election for legal sale of alcoholic, mixed beverages added to May ballot

Sat, 02/12/2022 - 4:06 pm
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    (THOMAS WALLNER | THE GRAHAM LEADER) Debbie Smith signs a petition to bring a local option election on the ballot for the legal sale of all alcoholic beverages, including mixed beverages within the Graham city limits. The election required 952 signatures in order to be considered by the council for a place on the ballot.
editor@grahamleader.com

The Graham City Council Tuesday called a special election on the May ballot for the legal sale of alcoholic beverages including mixed beverages within the city of Graham. The election issue comes following a petition filed by the Graham Wet Committee which reached the required number of signatures to be placed on the ballot.

The committee filed a petition for a local option election with the city of Graham in December 2021, looking to add a measure for the legal sale of all alcoholic beverages, including mixed beverages within the city limits to an upcoming election.

A local option election was held in November 2016 for the legal sale of beer and wine for off-premise consumption in Graham, which passed with 53% of voters in favor of the measure. This new petition, filed Dec. 13, 2021, adds an election measure for the legal sale of all alcoholic beverages, including mixed beverages. The application for the petition required 10 or more registered voters within the city.

According to city council documents, the petition, which included 175 pages, was issued to the committee Dec. 17, 2021. The committee presented the petition with 1,024 signatures to the city Monday, Jan. 24. The city stated the Statistical Sampling Method was used from Friday, Jan. 28 through Tuesday, Feb. 1, to verify signatures as recommended by the Young County Elections Administrator. On Feb. 1, the city determined there were 1,003 valid signatures of the 1,024 signatures submitted. The committee needed 952 signatures, which is 35% of the 2020 gubernatorial election.

“They have checked all the boxes and met all the steps that are required to get this on the ballot for the people to vote on it, and so we as a council are only approving that to go on the ballot,” Graham City Manager Brandon Anderson said Tuesday.

For the rest of the story, see the Feb. 12 edition of The Graham Leader.