COLORADO CITY -- Residents here will be able to vote on whether to legalize the sale of liquor by the drink countywide in the Nov. 4 election.

Mitchell County commissioners voted to place the issue on the November ballot after a petition calling for the election was submitted with the required number of registered voter signatures.

Chelsea Davidson submitted the petition containing 546 names of registered voters asking for a local option election to legalize the sale of all alcoholic beverages, including mixed drinks.

If the issue passes in the November election, all precincts in Mitchell County will be declared "wet."

Precincts 2, 25 and 3 are listed as wet; Precinct 4 allows the sale of beer and wine for off-premise consumption only.

If the issue passes, "nothing would change with the package stores," said James White, a Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission agent. "They would still be strictly 'to go,' but it would allow other package stores to open."

Places holding a beer and wine license and wishing to serve mixed beverages would need to apply for a new permit.

The old one would remain in effect until a new permit could be issued.

"You can't hold two primary permits," White said.

Changes in laws calling for local option elections are making it easier for local residents to call for an election.

"We're seeing this statewide," White said. "Scurry County will also hold a local option election in November."

Scurry County has bars but no package stores.

The legalization of liquor by the drink would not overturn state regulations regarding open containers nor cancel local ordinances governing locations where alcohol may be sold or served in the city.

In Erath County a petition was filed calling for a November election for off-premise beer and wine consumption.