ARKANSAS, USA — Fayetteville and Siloam Springs residents voted in favor of allowing Sunday alcohol sales for off-premises consumption in their cities on Nov. 5.
According to unofficial election results from Washington County, 82% of residents voted for the issue, while 18% voted against it.
Benton County's unofficial results show that 59% of residents voted for the issues, and 41% of residents voted against it.
"We hoped that we were working on something that the public would support," Secretary of Keep our Dollars in Fayetteville Keaton Smith said on Wednesday. "It was validating to see that the public was as excited about having that additional flexibility as we thought they might be."
Once implemented, residents will be able to purchase alcohol on Sunday in the city from 10 a.m. to midnight.
Keep Our Dollars in Fayetteville is the group behind the Fayetteville issue. A part of their campaign was focused on the economic benefit of the sales tax generated from alcohol sales in the city.
With the vote, Fayetteville and Siloam Springs join a list of Northwest Arkansas cities that allow alcohol sales on Sunday, including Springdale, Rogers, and Bentonville.
"Arkansas voters understand that our cities are largely funded by sales taxes," Smith said. "So if we're specifically not allowing the sale of a product that's available in a neighboring town, then we're losing out on revenue that can go to support the things we care about in our local community."
Smith said the policy will be implemented 30 days after official election results are certified, which he said will be sometime in late December.
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