What would it take for a ‘yes’ vote?

Every election matters, but not always for the most obvious reasons. This year, Virginia’s gubernatorial contest will attract the most attention.

But in northern Pittsylvania County, the voters in the town of Gretna and the larger Callands-Gretna Magisterial District will be asked to vote on several questions about the sale of alcoholic beverages.

Town voters and those people living in the Callands-Gretna district will vote on the question of Sunday beer and wine sales. Specifically, the voters will be asked: “Shall the sale of wine and beer between the hours of twelve o’clock p.m. on each Saturday and six o’clock a.m. on each Monday be permitted …?”

Gretna voters will also be asked to approve liquor by the drink: “Shall the sale of mixed alcoholic beverages by restaurants licensed by the Alcoholic Beverage Control Board be permitted in the Town of Gretna?”

The conventional political wisdom is that all three questions are doomed. If that happens, it will only reinforce the belief that Pittsylvania County voters will never approve any changes to the current laws regulating the sale of alcoholic beverages in the county.

It is the merchants who want those laws changed. Store owners know that they lose business to Danville and other communities that allow Sunday beer and wine sales. Restaurant owners know they are limited in the types of establishments they can operate if they aren’t allowed to serve mixed drinks.

But this year’s vote not only affects the store and restaurant owners in the town of Gretna and the Callands-Gretna Magisterial District — it will affect all of the county’s restaurant and store owners. Even though the questions will only be asked of the voters in one part of the county, the issue will echo throughout all of Pittsylvania County.

If one or more of the ballot questions pass, it could become a blueprint for future alcohol referendums in other parts of the county. If one or more of the ballot questions fail, it will further reinforce the status quo — and drive sales to places that allow for Sunday beer and wine sales and liquor by the drink.

While the questions have to be answered by the voters, the real pressure this year will be on those who stand to gain the most from getting liquor laws in Pittsylvania County to match those in surrounding communities.

Unless the county’s businessmen come up with an effective way to sell these three questions — and fast — they’ll lose a lot more than just another vote on Sunday beer and wine sales.