Unofficial tally: Middlesboro votes in favor of “moist vote”

MIDDLESBORO, Ky. (AP) – An unofficial tally shows that Middlesboro residents have voted to approve the “moist” sales of alcohol.

The Middlesboro Daily News reports (http://bit.ly/1KfMzTj) the unofficial vote tally Tuesday night showed that 1,298 residents voted for the referendum while 1,179 voted against it. The so-called “moist vote” means restaurants can sell alcohol by the drink.

The debate has been an ongoing point of contention in Middlesboro for generations, but the town is not alone in its debate. Twenty-eight other cities and three counties have voted in recent years to approve “moist” sales of alcohol, including Pineville in 2005.

The liquor-by-the-drink vote has also been trending in Tennessee, with around 80 communities voting in favor of the referendum.

A petition was launched in April in Middlesboro to put the issue on the ballot.

Copyright 2015 The Associated Press.