CANTON — Cherokee County voters have given the nod to retail Sunday alcohol sales.

Voters in unincorporated Cherokee, Woodstock, Canton, Holly Springs and Ball Ground have approved referendums that would allow the purchase of liquor, beer and wine on Sundays.

Unincorporated voters in Cherokee approved the measure by 68 percent, or 14,622 votes, to 32 percent, or 6,763 votes.

The county has 133,760 registered voters.

County Commission Chairman Buzz Ahrens said he was not surprised by the results.

“It’s exactly what I thought,” he said.

The referendums don’t mean sales will happen immediately. Governing bodies in each jurisdiction will have to pass ordinances that would legally establish when the sales could occur.

The measures received little opposition at the local level, but some liquor stores did voice concerns about the implications on its operations.

Woodstock voters also approved Sunday sales. Out of 1,190 ballots cast, voters approved the measure 69 percent, or 822 votes, to 31 percent, or 368 votes.

Mayor Donnie Henriques said he thought the passage was a “sensible vote.”

Since the county has been growing by “leaps and bounds,” it was only a matter of time before the issue had come up, the mayor said.

Canton and Holly Springs voters also approved the measure on their ballots.

Seventy-two percent, or 1,137 residents, approved the measure in the county seat, while 28 percent, or 452, voted against the measure.

Canton has 11,746 registered voters.

Mayor Gene Hobgood added he wasn’t surprised by the measure passing in the city, because there hasn’t been any controversy.

If it didn’t pass in Canton, but passed in Woodstock and Cherokee County, it would have put Canton at a disadvantage.

“We had to be competitive in this,” Hobgood added.

Holly Springs voters approved Sunday sales with 72 percent, or 687, voting yes, and 28 percent, 272 voters voting down the measure.

Mayor Tim Downing said, as an elected official, “I’ll support the people’s position.”

Holly Springs has 5,581 registered voters.

The small city of Ball Ground, which has 867 registered voters, also approved its Sunday sales referendum. Fifty-six percent, or 101 voters approved the measure in the city, compared to 44 percent, or 80 voters, who cast their ballots against the referendum.

Mayor Rick Roberts said the vote means that “Ball Ground has moved into the mainstream.”

He added the results were gratifying.

“This would have been a competitive disadvantage,” he added, regarding if the measure would have failed.