FRANKLIN COUNTY, Ohio — Eight alcohol-related measures are on the ballot for some Franklin County voters, according to the Ohio Division of Liquor Control.
The Director of Licensing and Interim Superintendent explains why it is left up to voters, instead of municipalities or city hall.
“It is because, going back to prohibition and the repeal of prohibition back in 1933, the states, Ohio among them, decided how they wanted to regulate alcohol,” Paul Kulwinski. “There's various ways Ohio regulates alcohol, but one of those is what we call through local option election, wet/dry laws. And so essentially, at that time, all Ohio voters got to decide where they wanted to allow spirits to be sold again.”
The Wet/Dry status is done at the precinct level, according to the Ohio Department of Commerce.
Consumer 10 found four precincts in Franklin County that still do not distribute any liquor licenses: Plain Township near New Albany, Pleasant Township and Darbydale near Grove City, and the Village of Lockbourne near Rickenbacker International Airport are all dry.
“If a location has already been voted wet at the precinct level, then the business would not need to necessarily come to the voters to do that. One thing that can come up, which is more infrequent these days, but it's certainly a possibility, is voters also have the power to dry up an entire precinct,” said Kulwinski.
It’s more likely to find what is called a local option election measure where voters can decide the fate of certain businesses to get approved for liquor licenses based on precinct quotas.
“[It] is really putting the power in the voters’ hands to have some control over what's in their neighborhood and what can be sold,” said Kulwinski.
For a list of on local liquor and alcohol sale measures on the November ballot, click here. Small businesses can find more information on how to bring a liquor license to the ballot and other laws on the Division of Liquor Control’s website.