Texas Has Just Five Dry Counties Left. Why Is That?
On Election Day in Stanton, just north of Midland, Ron Black was skeptical that a particular measure on the ballot would pass.
“Well, I think at first it was - uh, nobody thought it would go through because they’ve tried it so many times, you know? I can’t tell you how many times it’s gone to the ballot,” he says.
Black manages the Lawrence Brothers grocery in Stanton. The vote was whether to keep Stanton dry – that is to prohibit the sale of alcohol – or to allow the sale of beer and wine at stores like Black’s. But to his surprise, Stanton went wet after all. And it’s part of a long-term trend that’s washing over Texas.
To put it in perspective: in 1996, there were 53 dry counties in Texas. By 2011 that number dropped to 25. And as of Election Day when Stanton, the seat of Martin County went wet, there are now just five dry counties in Texas – in a state whose attitudes toward alcohol have always been complex, but tended to be more conservative than the country as a whole.
Read more: http://www.tpr.org/post/texas-has-just-five-dry-counties-left-why
We're still waiting for Borden, Hemphill, Kent, Roberts, and Throckmorton counties to catch up with the times.
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