Petitions seek supermarket wine sales in E. Tenn.
BRISTOL, Tenn. (AP) – An East Tennessee election official says petitions seeking a local vote on supermarket wine sales have begun circulating.
Sullivan County Administrator of Elections Jason Booher told the Bristol Herald Courier (http://bit.ly/1ktm3KG) that petitioners have until Aug. 21 to get enough signatures in Bristol and Kingsport.
He says 603 valid signatures are needed in Bristol while Kingsport needs 1,220. That’s 10 percent of the voters who cast ballots in the last gubernatorial election.
Wine sales are currently limited to state-approved liquor stores, but lawmakers passed a bill earlier this year that would allow supermarket sales if voters in a municipality approve a ballot measure.
The effort is part of an initiative by the Tennessee Grocers & Convenience Store Association to hold petition drives across the state.
