Poll Shows Marylanders Want to Be Able to Buy Alcohol in Chain Stores

A recent poll shows that a majority of Marylanders favor being able to buy beer and wine at chain stores, which currently are barred from holding liquor licenses.

A poll conducted in late September by Gonzales Research found that 64 percent of Marylanders favor being able to buy beer and wine at chain stores.

The issue crosses party lines. The poll found that 56 percent of Democrats and 77 percent of Republicans believe chain stores should be able to sell beer and wine.

The poll was conducted for Marylanders for Better Beer & Wine Laws (MBBWL), an advocacy group that has supported repealing laws that ban chain stores from receiving liquor licenses.

Adam Borden, president of MBBWL, said Gonzales was chosen because it was conducting a statewide poll about other questions and is regarded as one of the top tier polling outlets in Annapolis.

Gonzales Research wrote that they interviewed 813 registered voters across the state by telephone to obtain the results. Gonzales reported a margin of error of 3.5 percentage points.

"The results are really clear," said Borden. "It seems like an overwhelming majority clearly want this."

Attempts to contact a spokesperson for the Maryland State Licensed Beverage Association for its opinion on the poll were not successful.

Patch ran its own unofficial poll back in May. A total of 1,359 people voted in the poll, which found that 34 percent believed all alcohol should be sold in groceries, 26 percent said only beer and wine and 34 percent said no alcohol should be sold.

Tell us in comments: Do you think you should be able to buy alcohol in chain stores in Maryland? Do you think it would help draw new grocery retailers, like Trader Joe's, to Bowie?