LAWTON – This fall, Comanche County voters will decide whether retail liquor stores can be open on Sunday.
With little discussion, the Board of Comanche County Commissioners voted 3-0 July 8 to call for an election on the issue. The question will appear on the Nov. 5 ballot.
Interim Commissioner Trent Logan proposed the measure as a way of capturing more sales tax revenue for the county, he said in an interview following the meeting.
“My personal perspective, after talking with multiple constituents on my own time, is that it’s no longer about whether or not we have conservative or liberal ideology on alcohol sales,” he said. “ It’s about the fact that we need to create revenue in Comanche County, with 130,000-plus people and growing.”
If the proposition passes, liquor store owners in Lawton and across Comanche County could decide whether they want to open on Sundays.
A 2017 state law gave counties the option of voting on whether to allow retail liquor stores to do business on Sundays. So far, 11 of Oklahoma’s 77 counties have authorized Sunday liquor sales.
Logan said he thinks people need to be careful about using alcohol, but his personal beliefs about alcohol were not relevant to the discussion of Sunday sales.
“It’s all about whether or not we should be regulating business owners, telling them when they can and can’t sell certain items based on personal stance,” he said.