3 minSociety
Collingswood, New Jersey, votes to end its 150-year alcohol sales ban
Voters in the Philadelphia suburb of Collingswood approved a ballot measure allowing licensed establishments to sell alcohol, ending a ban that dates back to 1873.
Voters in Collingswood, New Jersey, a Philadelphia suburb, have approved a ballot measure that ends the town's long-standing ban on alcohol sales. The question, decided on Nov. 3, allows licensed establishments to sell alcohol, a change that Deputy Mayor Amy Henderson Riley has described as historic.
The measure passed with 3,635 yes votes against 2,381 no votes, or about 60.4 percent in favor. A total of 6,016 votes were cast on the municipal question, and all 12 precincts had reported their results by the time the outcome was clear. The margin left little doubt about where the community stood on the issue.
The prohibition on alcohol sales traces back to 1873, when the area was still part of Haddon Township. For about 150 years, residents of the community that later became Collingswood lived under that restriction. The question of ending it is not new. In 1935, two years after the end of national Prohibition, residents attempted a repeal, but that effort failed heavily. The 2024 vote therefore marks the first time the measure has succeeded at the ballot box.
Local debate ahead of the vote centered on two related questions: the health of the town's restaurant scene and whether liquor licenses would meaningfully change it. Supporters argued that the ability to sell alcohol would matter to the dining establishments operating in the community. Opponents questioned whether licenses would make a significant difference, a point that shaped much of the discussion before voters went to the polls.
The vote also arrives alongside a separate legal development in the same broad area of alcohol regulation. The U.S. Supreme Court has agreed to review a ban on home distilling dating from 1868, a case that touches on how alcohol may be produced and sold across the country. Although that case concerns a different question from the Collingswood ballot, both reflect the enduring role that alcohol rules play in American communities and courtrooms.
For Collingswood, the result sets the stage for licensed establishments to begin selling alcohol under the new framework. The ballot decision replaces a restriction that had been part of the town's identity for generations, and it gives local businesses a legal path that did not previously exist. How the change will shape the local economy and the daily life of the town will become clearer as licenses are issued and establishments respond.
Source: foxnews.com
4
