Faced With a Choice  

It boggles the mind that it takes fewer signatures to trigger a vote on incorporation than it does to trigger a vote on package liquor sales. Think about it. A vote to create a new city — arguably the most challenging task a community can undertake — faces a lower threshold than a vote to decide whether a legal substance can be sold to people over the age of 21.

To trigger a vote on package liquor sales, petitioners must gather signatures from 38 percent of a county’s registered voters. By contrast, to trigger a vote on creating a new city, they need signatures from 25 percent of the voters within the area to be incorporated.