Coweta voters decided Tuesday

they would like a cocktail with their dinner.

In a sharp contrast to a vote

in 1997, the citizens decided by a 52-48 percent margin to allow liquor

When all the votes had been

tallied, 7,054 residents voted yes, while 6,424 said no.

The vote process was started

in January, 2003 by then County Commission Chairman Leigh Schlumper. Schlumper

felt it was time for another vote on the issue after it had been resoundingly

defeated in 1997, and apparently she was right.

Liquor was also on the ballot

in Sharpsburg, and voters there rejected it by the narrowest of margins.

31 voters voted against liquor by the drink, while 30 voted for it.

In other election results,

John Edwards won the county in the Presidential preference primary. Edwards

received 3,477 votes, while front-runner John Kerry received 2,705 votes.

Al Sharpton placed a distant third with 397 votes.

Coweta voters also overwhelmingly

supported the current state flag. The flag currently flying received 10,002

votes, while former Governor Roy Barnes flag got only 3,429 votes.

Just over 29 percent of Coweta's

voters participated in Tuesday's vote.