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The process of changing a dry Arkansas county to a wet county

Out of the 75 counties here in Arkansas, 44 are wet and 31 are dry. So, how can a dry Arkansas county transition to selling alcohol?

LITTLE ROCK, Ark. — The day after an election there’s always winners and losers who may want to celebrate with an adult beverage or drown their sorrows. 

The trip to the store could vary in distance. How far of a drive to purchase alcohol depends on which county you live in.

Scott Hardin is a spokesperson for the Alcoholic Beverage Control (ABC). He said changing a county from dry to wet is no easy task. 

“You could be one individual citizen who says 'I want my county to be wet,' but that’s probably not going to cut it,” Hardin said. "You have to have a group of citizens to lead this effort or get a petition. They have to get 38% of the registered voters in the county.”

For example, if there are 10,000 registered voters in a county, the petition would need at least 3,800 signatures. 

“It sounds impossible, it’s been something that has been argued. That’s been the rule since 1993. Prior to that it was 15% which was a little more manageable,” Hardin said. 

However, over the past four years three counties have successfully transitioned from a dry to wet county.

"Surprisingly, you see counties that do it. Randolph County in 2018, Van Buren County in 2020, and Sevier County in 2020 [did] it," he said.

If and when a county decides to go wet, ABC issues one retail liquor permit for every 7,500 residents. While the number of liquor stores are limited based on population, there is not a limit to the number of beer and wine permits.

Out of the 75 counties here in Arkansas, 44 are wet and 31 are dry.

    

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