Effort to place alcohol measure on ballot in Harrison County’s Pct. 4 fails

Published 11:21 pm Thursday, July 24, 2025

A petition to place a proposition on the November ballot to allow beer and wine sales in Harrison County Pct. 4 failed to gather enough signatures.

Harrison County Election Administrator Donald Robinette recently told commissioners that 2,105 signatures were required, and 342 were garnered.

“Any petition regarding alcohol requires signatures of 35% of the turnout of the last gubernatorial election,” he said, noting more than 6,000 voters in Pct. 4 turned out for that specific election.

Merchants in Pct. 4 began the push in May to make the area wet by launching a petition to allow for the sale of beer and wine in convenience stores. Proponents of the petition said the proposition would keep revenue in Pct. 4, reduce drive time, save on fuel and potentially attract new businesses.

The Corner Store Grocery, at 7920 FM 450, in Hallsville led the petition drive. The store posted on its Facebook page in May that it heard customers’ requests for beer.

“Of course we are always trying to meet all of our awesome customers’ expectations, but only y’all can make this happen,” the store wrote at the time. “Call your buddies, your parents, or anyone that you know that lives in this precinct. Tell them to come on down to the corner store and sign our petition.”

Robinette said the petition not only lacked enough signatures, but lacked supporters within the precinct.

“A signature must be of a registered voter within the precinct,” he told commissioners. “Additionally, there were neighbors in the area that wanted to sign but could not due to the precinct lines being right at the store. Just across the street from the store is a different precinct.”

In 2022, Dollar General attempted to make the legally “dry” area wet when it was erroneously issued a permit by the Harrison County Clerk’s Office for the then new store in Harleton. Two months later, TBAC stopped the sales due to the error.

Robinette said he believes this is The Corner Store Grocery’s third try to place an alcohol referendum on a ballot.

“Each time they have to refile with TABC and also readvertise their intent in a local newspaper,” he said.

For now, according to the TABC website, Pct. 4 is listed as “partially wet” with Harleton listed as completely “dry.”