RICHLAND COUNTY — Five Richland County businesses will ask voters to decide whether they can expand their liquor sales when local-option questions appear on the Nov. 3 ballot.

The requests cover businesses in Mansfield and Shelby, with each question applying to a specific location and outlining which types of alcohol the business wants to sell and when.

Five local businesses, five liquor questions

  • Precinct 0410 MAN 4 – B – Kingwood Center Gardens, 50 N. Trimble Road, will ask voters to approve Sunday sales of wine and mixed beverages and spirituous liquor, along with on-and off-premise sales of wine and mixed beverages and spirituous liquor.
  • Precinct 0220 – MAN 2 – C – Lexington Avenue Drive Thru, 261 Lexington Ave. in Mansfield, will ask voters about Sunday sales of wine and mixed beverages and spirituous liquor, off-premise sales of wine and mixed beverages and on-premise sales of spirituous liquor.
  • Precinct 0700 – SHL 1 – A – Legends Sports Grill & Pub, 63 W. Main St. in Shelby, will have a question covering Sunday sales of wine and mixed beverages and spirituous liquor, along with on-and off-premise sales of wine and mixed beverages and on-premise sales of spirituous liquor.
  • Precinct 0710 – SHL 1 – B – Shelby Carry Out, 116 N. Gamble St., will ask voters about Sunday sales of wine and mixed beverages and off-premise sales of wine and mixed beverages.
  • Precinct 0810 – SHL 2 – B – Ralph Phillips VFW 291, 34 W. Main St. in Shelby, will seek approval for Sunday sales of wine and mixed beverages and spirituous liquor, along with on-premise sales of wine, mixed beverages and spirituous liquor.

Ohio allows local liquor-option questions to appear on general election ballots, with different petition requirements depending on the type of liquor sales a business seeks. The Ohio Secretary of State lists separate petition forms for local-option elections, including one for Sunday sales.

The process can also involve outside assistance.

Richland County Board of Elections Director Matt Finfgeld said a business owner can work with a company that helps businesses navigate the process of getting a liquor question onto the ballot.

Bob Young, founder and president of Young Independent Consultants, is one of those people.

Young said businesses seeking Sunday sales must collect 50 valid signatures from voters in the appropriate precinct.

“We typically get about 75, what we believe are good signatures, just to be safe,” he said.

Young said the signatures are then checked with the Board of Elections before the local option is filed and placed on the ballot.

“We actually go door-to-door in the voting precinct and knock on doors and talk to people and ask them if they’re willing to sign for whoever the business is,” Young said.

Businesses navigate a complicated process

Finfgeld said the liquor laws can make the process difficult for businesses seeking a local option.

“We can’t even advise these businesses,” Finfgeld said. “We’re not attorneys.”

The Board of Elections can provide businesses with a packet, but Finfgeld said businesses must determine which option they want to pursue.

Young said the local-option process gives businesses an opportunity to ask voters for additional sales.

He said the ballot process exists in part because some communities still prefer not to allow alcohol sales on Sunday.

“Everybody who has a Sunday liquor license in the whole state, it was voted on either precinct-wide or for the particular business in the past,” Young said.

Once a business receives approval, Young said the Sunday sales authorization remains in place and does not require another trip to the ballot.

Ballot language and what it means

The ballot questions also distinguish between on-premise and off-premise sales.

Young said restaurants with liquor licenses can sell certain alcoholic beverages for customers to take with them, while liquor sales generally remain on-premise unless the business holds the appropriate liquor-store license.

“So, if you go to your local carry-out, you can’t buy a glass of wine and drink it there, unless they have a restaurant license,” Young added. “But if you go to your local restaurant, technically, you can get beer to carry-out.”

What happens after Election Day?

Finfgeld said a liquor option does not take effect immediately after voters approve it.

The Board of Election typically certifies an election about 10 to 14 days after Election Day, he said. The board sends the necessary information to the Ohio Division of Liquor Control.

After the liquor commission processes the information and sends the business what it needs, the business can begin selling under the approved option.

“So, it isn’t right after the election,” Finfgeld said. “But I wouldn’t think it’d be very long at all.”

Finfgeld said most liquor options pass when they appear on the ballot. Since joining the Board of Elections, he has seen only one fail and it was by one vote.

“It was just so close,” he added. “And we did recount it, but it was a one-vote difference.”

He said the same local liquor-option question cannot return for another four years after a failure.