Urban County Council members will soon be considering whether to do away with an Election Day law that the Vice Mayor is calling “antiquated.”
Lexington’s ban on alcohol sales on Election Day is a remnant of the Prohibition era, when polling places could be found in saloons. Only two states – Kentucky and South Carolina – maintained Election Day bans when the law was passed. Now, with the South Carolina legislature officially rescinding their state's ban earlier this month, Lexington may soon follow suit.
"The fact of the matter is that it is old. It's not necessary and it doesn't really work for anything, except that it prevents people from getting a glass of wine at lunch or an early dinner," Vice Mayor Linda Gorton says.
Gorton says she was approached by business owners and other members of the public who feel the law needs to go - and now plans to raise the issue at the August General Government Committee meeting.
She says she believes the votes are there to remove the ordinance.
