Seven Arkansas Cities Approve Sunday Alcohol Sales in 2026 Election; Redfield Votes No

ARKANSAS ELECTION 2026 · NOVEMBER 4 REPORT

Seven cities said yes. One said no. Two votes made the difference in Shirley.

Hot Springs, Pine Bluff and El Dorado joined four smaller Arkansas communities in approving Sunday package alcohol sales on November 3. Redfield went the other way—by just 12 votes.

An ArkansasLiquor.com election-night analysis | Unofficial returns; certification pending

THE BIG PICTURE

Arkansas’ Sunday-sales map changed overnight

It took only 86 votes to settle the question in Shirley. Forty-four people voted for Sunday alcohol sales. Forty-two voted against. In Redfield, 488 people cast a ballot on the same kind of question, and the proposal failed by a dozen votes. Those razor-thin decisions tell just as much of the November 3 story as the thousands of ballots cast in Hot Springs, Pine Bluff and El Dorado.

Across eight city measures identified in the November 3 statewide election-night returns, seven were approved and one was rejected. The successful votes were in Hot Springs, Pine Bluff, El Dorado, Bull Shoals, Fairfield Bay, Holiday Island and Shirley. Redfield rejected its proposal.

The combined totals in the seven approving cities were 15,742 votes for and 11,315 votes against, out of 27,057 votes cast on those seven local questions. Those figures describe the reported local ballots, not a statewide referendum or a poll of Arkansans generally.

What voters approved is narrower than the phrase “Sunday liquor sales” sometimes suggests. These measures concern off-premises sales: alcohol purchased from a properly permitted retailer to take elsewhere. They do not create new liquor permits, repeal every local alcohol rule or require businesses to open seven days a week.

And while all precincts are shown as reporting for the eight contests reviewed, the totals remain unofficial until county election authorities complete their canvass and certification. Close contests, particularly Shirley and Redfield, deserve special care when the numbers are quoted.

COMPLETE RESULTS

2026 Arkansas Sunday alcohol sales election results

The table below includes every city-level Sunday off-premises alcohol-sales contest we were able to identify and verify in the November 3 returns. The ‘margin’ is the vote difference, not a percentage-point spread.

The numerical returns are carried in the election-night results compilation. They can be checked against the Arkansas Secretary of State’s 2026 election-results portal, local county canvasses and reporting by MoArk News Now, Arkansas Radio and South Arkansas Now.

As a second way to visualize the results, the bars below show the share of votes supporting the measure in each city. They are not measures of statewide approval, and they should not be interpreted as retail sales forecasts.

THE YES VOTE, CITY BY CITY

A varied set of local decisions

Redfield’s bar represents votes supporting a measure that did not pass. Data: unofficial November 3 municipal election returns.

CITY REPORT: HOT SPRINGS

Hot Springs: the 2026 petition becomes a 63% victory

Hot Springs delivered the largest number of yes votes among the eight contests reviewed: 6,575 in favor and 3,858 opposed, a 2,717-vote margin. The local question drew 10,433 votes in all.

For a city built around visitors, restaurants, hotels and weekend travel, Sunday retail alcohol sales have long been more than a technical point of licensing law. Sunday drinking was already available in qualifying establishments; the ballot question addressed taking home beer, wine or spirits bought from an appropriately licensed store.

Getting the issue onto the ballot required a citizen petition. In August, Hot Springs officials certified 1,957 valid signatures; the Board of Directors then called the election as a procedural step. That process was detailed in ArkansasLiquor.com’s earlier report on the November vote and in Arkansas Breaking News’ August 18 account of the board meeting.

Tyler Draper, associated with the Keep Our Dollars in Hot Springs campaign, was a visible advocate. Reporting from KATV in late August described the campaign’s argument that consumers could purchase drinks in local establishments on Sunday but could not make comparable take-home purchases from retail outlets.

The campaign also drew attention to large-retailer involvement: Arkansas Breaking News reported that Draper told the board the campaign had received approximately $35,000 in Walmart donations. That is a reported campaign-finance claim made in August, not an election-night revenue figure or an estimate of what Sunday sales will generate.

Hot Springs’ affirmative result puts an important Central Arkansas-adjacent market on a path toward Sunday retail availability. However, the city limits still define the authorization. A qualifying store beyond the incorporated boundary does not acquire Sunday privileges merely because its mailing address says Hot Springs.

An operational date remains a separate question. City staff had already discussed the need to address municipal code language in the event of approval, according to pre-election ballot analysis. Retailers and shoppers should look for official city and ABC guidance rather than assume all counters may begin selling immediately.

CITY REPORT: PINE BLUFF

Pine Bluff: an approval with a narrow, 297-vote cushion

The Pine Bluff measure passed 4,792 to 4,495, or 51.6% to 48.4%. Only 297 votes separated the two sides after 9,287 ballots were counted on the question.

That margin illustrates why Pine Bluff deserves its own chapter, rather than a one-line mention in a three-city roundup. The same election produced a clear majority in Hot Springs and a much closer decision in Pine Bluff. A favorable result in both places does not mean voters expressed the same level of support.

The petition reached the Pine Bluff City Council in September. According to the Pine Bluff Commercial’s September 9 report by Eplunus Colvin, council members voted to place the citizen-initiated question on the November ballot while raising questions about precisely which products and outlets would be covered.

Those questions are worth revisiting after the vote. A supermarket, a convenience store and a package liquor store do not necessarily hold identical ABC permits. The referendum authorizes Sunday sales by permit holders; it does not expand the categories a business may lawfully sell.

Pine Bluff was also among the places named in Arkansas Business’ December 2025 report about Brookshire Grocery Co.-linked petition efforts. That report identified attorney David Couch and company government-relations executive Kevan Fenderson as working on Sunday-sales measures in several cities.

In Jefferson County, the split between Pine Bluff’s yes vote and Redfield’s no vote is especially revealing. Two nearby cities, presented with the same basic policy choice, produced opposite results. Under Arkansas’ local-option approach, each municipal boundary matters.

The practical question for Pine Bluff merchants is not whether every retailer must change schedules. They do not. It is whether enough shoppers and stores choose Sunday trade to shift where existing purchases occur. No post-election revenue or staffing data is yet available to answer that.

CITY REPORT: EL DORADO

El Dorado: South Arkansas backs Sunday package sales

In El Dorado, 2,489 voters supported Sunday off-premises alcohol sales, compared with 2,005 opposing the measure. The resulting 484-vote margin translates to 55.4% in favor.

Unlike a statewide change to Arkansas alcohol law, the vote gives El Dorado its own decision for businesses within its city limits. It is a local market with local permit holders, local competition and local choices about operating hours.

South Arkansas Now’s November 4 election roundup independently reported the same 2,489-to-2,005 result amid coverage of municipal and Union County races. The University of Arkansas Cooperative Extension’s pre-election guide had also identified El Dorado as one of the cities asking voters to decide Sunday sales.

El Dorado appeared early in the retailer-backed organizing story. Arkansas Business reported in December 2025 that people working with Brookshire Grocery Co. had pursued a Sunday-sales petition there and were looking at other communities as well.

That background does not mean the vote can be reduced to one company’s interests. Every valid ballot is cast by a local voter, and store owners can have competing views about the economic effect. Large retailers may see Sunday as a convenient extension of existing operating hours; smaller operators may calculate the added payroll and security costs differently.

What is now established is the election outcome. Exactly when El Dorado retailers can lawfully begin Sunday transactions—and which of them intend to do so—requires confirmation from local officials and businesses.

CITY REPORTS: THE FOUR OTHERS

Beyond the headlines: Bull Shoals, Fairfield Bay, Holiday Island and Shirley

The three bigger-city results are important. They are not the whole statewide story. Four additional communities approved Sunday off-premises alcohol sales, according to the local returns reviewed for this report.

Bull Shoals — 476 for, 293 against

In Bull Shoals, Marion County voters within the city supported the measure by 183 votes, with 61.9% voting for it. University of Arkansas Cooperative Extension’s pre-election local-issues survey documented the city’s Sunday-sales ballot question and cited Ordinance No. 2026-07. The result adds another North Arkansas community to the changing Sunday-retail map.

Bull Shoals is a reminder that Sunday-sales elections are not limited to regional shopping centers or large tourism cities. A city with fewer ballots than some individual precincts elsewhere can make its own regulatory decision under the same Arkansas statute.

Fairfield Bay — 523 for, 310 against

Fairfield Bay voters approved Sunday sales by a 213-vote margin, with 62.8% in favor. The community extends into Van Buren and Cleburne counties; this was a city question, not a vote to authorize Sunday retail sales across either entire county.

Arkansas Radio’s November 4 Van Buren County roundup independently reported the 523-to-310 margin and also identified Shirley’s separate two-vote outcome. Different communities in the Greers Ferry Lake region can reach their own conclusions even where local boundaries are close together.

Holiday Island — 843 for, 312 against

Holiday Island, in Carroll County, approved the proposition with 73.0% voting for it, an 843-to-312 tally. MoArk News Now published Carroll County’s unofficial November 3 results, identifying the city’s proposal as Sunday off-premises sales between 10 a.m. and midnight.

Holiday Island voters also faced a separate local sales-tax question. It is important not to confuse that issue with the alcohol measure. Approval of one proposal does not mean the other also passed or was legally dependent on it.

Shirley — 44 for, 42 against

Shirley’s result is the smallest in raw vote count and one of the most consequential to describe precisely. The reported outcome is 44 for, 42 against: a margin of two votes after only 86 ballots were cast on the question.

A two-vote lead is a result, not a certification. Until the county canvass is complete, any account of Shirley should say “unofficially approved” or “appears to have passed,” rather than promise that the outcome cannot change. Arkansas Radio’s county roundup corroborates the same numbers.

Together, these four contests show how Arkansas’ Sunday-alcohol law operates one community at a time. Each has its own electorate. The statewide story is the accumulation of local decisions—not a single statewide mandate.

THE ONE NO VOTE

Redfield rejects Sunday sales by 12 votes

Redfield was the exception. The Jefferson County city reported 238 votes for Sunday alcohol sales and 250 against. With 48.8% in support, the measure fell short by just 12 votes.

The ballot’s subject is not a guess from an ambiguously labeled election-night dashboard. A Jefferson County public election notice expressly listed a Redfield question concerning Sunday off-premises alcohol sales, alongside Pine Bluff’s Sunday-sales question. Earlier Arkansas Business reporting had also identified Redfield as a target for petition organizers.

The vote did not invalidate existing on-premises alcohol privileges for properly permitted establishments. It rejected the separate proposal to authorize Sunday off-premises transactions within Redfield city limits.

The margin also deserves the same care as Shirley’s. Election-night counts can be updated during canvassing. A careful report preserves both the numerical result and its unofficial status.

For readers in Jefferson County, the contrast is immediate: Pine Bluff voted yes by 297, while Redfield voted no by 12. Sunday retail authorization is not automatically uniform even across communities in the same county.

HOW THE LAW WORKS

What the November 3 votes actually authorize

The governing statute is Arkansas Code § 3-3-210. It is specific about the kind of sale voters may authorize, the election procedure and where an approved local option applies.

Off-premises purchases, not a new category of liquor license

“Off-premises” means alcohol purchased for consumption somewhere else: a sealed bottle of spirits from a liquor retailer, beer from a licensed convenience store, or wine from a retailer that is already authorized to sell that product. Which items a merchant may sell still depends on its existing Arkansas Alcoholic Beverage Control permit.

A beer-only permit does not become a spirits permit because local voters approve Sunday operations. The same goes for non-permitted businesses: a Sunday-sales vote cannot replace the need to obtain an ABC license. Readers can review Arkansas ABC’s permit and consumer guidance for the regulatory distinctions.

The Sunday window is 10 a.m. to midnight—unless locally shortened

State law authorizes off-premises Sunday sales between 10:00 a.m. and 12:00 midnight, or within a shorter time period allowed under the referendum and applicable local rules. It does not give retailers permission to sell starting at 6 a.m. just because the business opens early.

Nor is a retailer required to remain open for the entire statutory window. The hours set the outer legal limits of authorized Sunday sales, not a mandatory business schedule.

Citywide means inside the city boundary

Under § 3-3-210(b)(3), a majority in a citywide election authorizes Sunday sales at permitted outlets within that incorporated city. A countywide measure, if separately held and approved, has a different geographic reach. The 2026 city results should not be described as granting Sunday sales across Garland, Jefferson, Union, Marion, Van Buren, Cleburne or Carroll counties.

Arkansas’ preexisting wet/dry rules and licensing restrictions are separate questions. The Sunday authorization itself does not independently convert a dry location into a wet one or make every outlet eligible.

Restaurants and bars are a different part of the statute

Qualifying on-premises permit holders may already operate Sunday under state law, subject to applicable local restrictions and ABC rules. In other words, the November 3 referendums addressed the retail purchase a person takes away—not whether a licensed restaurant may serve a drink with dinner.

Wholesalers are not suddenly permitted to deliver on Sunday

The law expressly retains a Sunday restriction on wholesale distributors selling or delivering alcoholic beverages to retailers. A store that chooses to open Sunday will still have to plan inventory around distribution rules.

What about alcohol delivery to a home?

A Sunday vote does not by itself create a new door-to-door delivery right. Arkansas has separate permits and conditions governing deliveries, including the recipient’s age and verification requirements. The ABC FAQ explains those limitations. Retailers should verify how any existing delivery authority interacts with local Sunday-sales permission rather than assume a blanket authorization.

THE PETITION RULE

Why city councils could not simply legalize Sunday package sales

This year’s votes also put a procedural point into sharp focus: Arkansas municipalities cannot make off-premises Sunday alcohol sales legal just by voting on a city ordinance. The electorate must authorize the change through the statutory referendum process.

For a city petition, § 3-3-210 ties the signature threshold to 15% of the qualified electors who voted in the city for governor at the last general election in which the office appeared. A county petition has a corresponding countywide formula. Once a qualifying petition is certified, the election machinery can move forward.

In Hot Springs, the city clerk certified 1,957 signatures and the board called the election. In Pine Bluff, the City Council handled the local ballot process after a citizen-initiated petition, according to the Pine Bluff Commercial. Those procedural votes should not be confused with city boards themselves choosing whether alcohol sales are legal.

The benchmark for future petitions matters now that Arkansas held another gubernatorial election on November 3. A group that calculated its target from 2022 turnout should not automatically assume the same signature count applies to a new effort. Local clerks and counsel should verify the updated calculation and deadlines.

This petition-and-referendum structure gives residents the final say within each relevant jurisdiction. It also means that two cities only a short drive apart may remain under different Sunday rules for years.

THE BUSINESS QUESTION

More Sunday convenience does not automatically mean more total alcohol sales

The economic argument for Sunday package sales is straightforward: if shoppers already buy alcohol on Sundays elsewhere, allowing the transaction locally may keep some of that spending closer to home. What has not been established is how much new spending the 2026 votes will produce.

Supporters often emphasize consumer convenience, competition and the possibility that residents will stop crossing municipal boundaries for a Sunday purchase. The same argument featured in the earlier Hot Springs campaign and in Fort Smith organizers’ discussions about shopping across the Oklahoma line.

Retailers do not all face the same cost structure. A large grocery store that already employs staff and keeps its doors open on Sunday may have lower incremental costs for selling permitted alcohol products. An independent liquor store deciding whether to add an entire day of operations must evaluate staffing, utilities, security, cash management and delivery schedules.

That does not create a universal formula. Some Sunday purchases may be purchases moved from Saturday, producing little increase in weekly volume. Other sales may be diverted from neighboring jurisdictions, and a smaller portion may reflect purchases that would not otherwise occur. Without transaction-level data, it would be inaccurate to say the measures will automatically generate a particular amount of tax revenue or a fixed percentage increase in sales.

Arkansas saw this tension when Fayetteville approved its own Sunday-sales measure in 2024. The Fayetteville Flyer reported when local retailers could begin selling that December; the broader Northwest Arkansas debate included differing reactions among package-store owners about opening costs and competitive pressure.

The next meaningful round of reporting will involve actual store-opening decisions and—later—any credible sales-tax or retail-sales evidence. Election-night vote percentages are not economic-impact estimates.

THE NEXT CITY

Fort Smith remains outside this election-night group

Fort Smith has been discussing the same change, but residents did not vote on Sunday off-premises alcohol sales on November 3, 2026. The city remains on a different procedural track.

KHBS/40/29 reported in September that Rhyan Besco of the River Boy Foundation intended to organize a citizen petition to put Sunday sales on a future Fort Smith ballot. City officials described a possible March special-election timetable if sufficient signatures were gathered, but that was a potential schedule—not an election already set.

The September signature estimate was 3,120 based on the then-most-recent gubernatorial election. The November 2026 governor’s race means that historical estimate should not be repeated as the current required number without a fresh calculation.

Fort Smith’s debate illustrates the practical limits of the statute. The board may discuss the issue, the city clerk may explain procedures and petition organizers may seek signatures. The board alone cannot substitute its preference for a successful citizen-initiated referendum.

Results from Hot Springs, Pine Bluff, El Dorado and smaller communities may inform that conversation, but nothing about those approvals legally settles Fort Smith’s own Sunday-retail policy.

WHAT HAPPENS NEXT

When can stores begin selling alcohol on Sunday?

The vote totals answer what voters supported. They do not, by themselves, tell shoppers that a specific retailer will be serving customers on Sunday, November 8.

First, local election returns must be canvassed and certified. Municipal officials must handle any necessary code alignment or implementation steps, and retailers must operate consistently with their ABC permits and local ordinances. In Hot Springs, pre-election city materials specifically anticipated a city-code update if the measure was approved.

Second, a retailer may decide whether to open. A yes vote grants qualifying stores permission under the approved local option; it does not impose a seven-day workweek on owners or employees.

Third, residents should pay attention to boundaries and permitted product categories. A store just outside city limits can remain under the prior Sunday rule even when a nearby store inside the city is authorized, and two businesses with different permit classes may lawfully carry different products.

As of this November 4 report, ArkansasLiquor.com has not independently verified a uniform first Sunday of legal retail operation across all seven approving cities. We will treat a city or ABC announcement, not a social-media assumption, as the evidence for a definite start date.

The closest past analogy is Fayetteville, where stores began Sunday sales in December after the November 2024 vote. That example demonstrates why a gap can exist between an election result and the first Sunday a retailer actually opens. It does not establish an identical timeline for the seven 2026 cities.

WHY THIS MATTERS

A different kind of Arkansas election story

The remarkable part of November 3 was not simply that several cities voted for a change to alcohol sales. It was how different the contests looked when the numbers were placed beside one another.

Hot Springs amassed 6,575 affirmative votes. Pine Bluff approved the same general category of retail change with a more divided electorate. Holiday Island registered 843 supportive ballots. Shirley’s outcome rested on a two-vote margin. And Redfield rejected its version by 12.

Those are not interchangeable results. They reflect communities with different populations, retailers, habits and priorities using the same local-option mechanism. The law was written to permit exactly that kind of geographical variation.

For shoppers, the change could eventually make Sunday errands more convenient in those cities where sales become operational. For businesses, the impact will depend on whether a Sunday opening fits their circumstances. For other cities, the results provide recent examples of the petition path and the arguments that voters have heard.

There is a temptation to read every referendum as the beginning of a uniform statewide shift. The evidence supports a more precise conclusion: on November 3, voters in seven identified Arkansas cities approved Sunday off-premises alcohol sales, while voters in one identified city declined to do so. The map changed one boundary at a time.

QUESTIONS READERS ARE ASKING

Arkansas Sunday alcohol sales: frequently asked questions

Did Arkansas legalize Sunday liquor sales statewide on November 3?

No. The eight results discussed here are separate municipal local-option elections. The seven approvals apply within the relevant city boundaries to qualifying licensed retailers, subject to implementation and local rules.

Which Arkansas cities voted yes on Sunday alcohol sales in 2026?

Hot Springs, Pine Bluff, El Dorado, Bull Shoals, Fairfield Bay, Holiday Island and Shirley voted yes in the November 3 unofficial returns reviewed for this report.

Which city voted no?

Redfield rejected its Sunday off-premises proposal 250 to 238, a 12-vote margin, according to unofficial returns.

How close was Shirley’s vote?

Shirley reported 44 votes for and 42 against. Its apparent two-vote approval remains subject to the official canvass and certification process.

What time can permitted Sunday sales take place?

Arkansas’ statutory authorization is 10 a.m. to midnight, or a shorter authorized window under a particular local measure and applicable local rules.

Can grocery stores or gas stations sell alcohol on Sunday?

A qualifying retailer inside an approving city may sell only the alcohol products covered by its existing valid Arkansas ABC permit, during legally authorized hours, once Sunday sales are operational.

Will all liquor stores be open on Sundays now?

No. Permission to sell is not a requirement to open, and stores outside the approving jurisdiction do not automatically gain permission.

Do the votes change Sunday restaurant and bar service?

No. On-premises consumption is addressed under separate permit rules; the eight local measures concern off-premises retail sales.

Can a city council approve Sunday package sales without a petition?

Not under the current petition-and-referendum process in Arkansas Code § 3-3-210. The statute sets a citizen signature threshold and requires a majority vote on the ballot question.

When do Sunday alcohol sales start in Hot Springs, Pine Bluff or El Dorado?

An across-the-board start date had not been independently verified for this November 4 report. Election certification, local implementation and retailer decisions matter. Check the municipality and ABC before treating a particular date as confirmed.

Does the approval make dry areas wet?

Not by itself. The Sunday-sales referendum addresses the day on which properly licensed outlets may sell alcohol; wet/dry status and underlying permit eligibility are separate regulatory questions.

What about Fort Smith, Little Rock or North Little Rock?

These seven approvals do not automatically change Sunday retail rules in other cities. Fort Smith’s publicly reported effort was still at the petition stage, and any other city must follow the law applicable to its own jurisdiction.

REPORTING & SOURCES

How we checked the results—and where you can read more

Election returns: Our central comparison uses the November 3 statewide election-night returns compilation and the Arkansas Secretary of State election-results portal. County reporting and secondary local news accounts were used to cross-check named contests. All figures here are provisional election-night totals, not certified county canvasses.

Additional election-night coverage: South Arkansas Now’s El Dorado and Union County results (November 4); MoArk News Now’s Carroll County and Holiday Island returns (November 3); and Arkansas Radio’s county-by-county results, including Fairfield Bay and Shirley (November 4).

How the ballot questions reached voters: ArkansasLiquor.com’s original Hot Springs petition report; Arkansas Breaking News on Hot Springs’ petition certification (August 18); Pine Bluff Commercial on the City Council’s September ballot action; and Arkansas Business on the Brookshire-linked petition campaigns (December 2025).

Ballot scope and local context: University of Arkansas Cooperative Extension’s local ballot-issues guide; the Jefferson County election public notice addressing Redfield and Pine Bluff; and KHBS/40/29 on the potential Fort Smith petition.

Legal context: Arkansas Code § 3-3-210, Sunday alcohol sales and local referendums, and Arkansas Alcoholic Beverage Control’s frequently asked questions.

Methodology: Vote totals, vote shares and margins were calculated from the reported FOR and AGAINST counts on each municipality’s particular Sunday-sales proposition. The combined approval total aggregates votes on seven separate propositions, not unique statewide voters. A reported percentage is rounded to one decimal. We have not independently obtained each county’s final certified canvass as of November 4, 2026. The published story should be updated if certification alters a close result.

Editorial note: This is independent news reporting. Supporters’ expectations about new revenue, opponent concerns about operating costs and any potential launch date are identified as claims or open questions where reliable post-election evidence is not yet available.

RELATED ARKANSASLIQUOR.COM COVERAGE

Read the story before the vote

Our August feature followed the Hot Springs petition, the city board’s procedural vote and the arguments over local shopping. The election-night result now supplies the next chapter: Hot Springs Sunday Alcohol Sales Headed to November Vote, and Central Arkansas Should Pay Attention.