 The organization sought the referendum on the expectation that legalizing liquor by the drink in unincorporated areas would eliminate one motive for municipal annexations in the county.Earlier, some restaurant operators had voluntarily requested annexation by the city of Knoxville, where liquor sales were permitted, so that they could sell liquor.After the referendum, state officials said they could not process applications for alcoholic beverage permits from businesses in unincorporated areas of Knox County due to a provision in Tennessee law prohibiting sales of liquor by the drink in any county district of which sections had been annexed by a city, a provision that was interpreted to apply to all of unincorporated Knox County.