Hackleburg to hold wet/dry vote

HACKLEBURG — After receiving a petition from citizens in Hackleburg requesting a wet/dry vote, and after checking to ensure all the names on the petition were registered voters, and after a verification vote by the Hackleburg Town Council on Feb. 17, there will be a special-called election on Tuesday, April 22, to allow a majority of the town’s citizens to determine whether they wish to remain dry or allow local alcohol sales.
Hackleburg Town Clerk Carla Rector answered a few questions for the Journal-Record after a PSA was released on Facebook. Rector noted a call to the newspaper had been on her to-do list the same day we reached out. She also said required advertisements will be published in the paper at a later date for three weeks prior to the election.
Rector noted there were actually a few more signatures than the 30 percent as required by law.
“By law, citizens had to bring the wet/dry petition to me,” she said. “When we realized we had enough to vote, we started getting the election set up, ordering the voting machines and supplies.”
She explained if the vote were to pass as “yes,” the town would have to set up ordinances for exactly what the funds would be used for.
She also mentioned if the vote is a “no,” the town would have to wait 720 days before another vote could be held, and a different signature petition would be required.

PSA: Hackleburg Wet-Dry Vote
A petition to require a wet/dry vote in Hackleburg has been filed and certified by the Hackleburg City Clerk.
The petition met the required 30 percent of municipal voters in the last municipal election, so a called election for wet/dry vote will be held April 22, 2025, at the normal polling location at the Senior Building on Ray Road.
Sections 28-2A-1 through 28-2A-4, Code of Alabama 1975, give municipalities of 1,000 or more in population the authority to hold a referendum on the question of legalizing sales of alcoholic beverages within the corporate limits of the municipality.
The municipagoverning body must call such an election when a petition, signed by 30 percent of the number of voters who voted in the last preceding general election of the municipality, is filed with the municipal clerk.
If a majority of those persons casting ballots in such an election vote “wet,” the sale of alcoholic beverages will be allowed in the municipal corporate limits.
A municipal council must give three weeks notice prior to the holding of a wet/dry referendum.
Hackleburg Mayor Darryl Colburn also responded to a request to comment on the PSA and upcoming vote.
"This is the second time a petition was submitted to the town to be certified,” he said. “The first time, the petition had enough signatures, but wasn't certified, because some names were duplicated and some were verified as not being a resident inside the city limits.
“This time, all the names have been verified. So, the city clerk certified the names as a legal petition that met all the required criteria to call for a wet-dry vote.
“The people of Hackleburg will determine the outcome of this election, so we'll see how it goes and honor the decision of the people."