NASHVILLE – More than 60 communities have collected enough signatures to place a referendum for supermarket and convenience store wine sales on the November ballot, according to a coalition that's tracking the petitions.

Currently, wine can only be sold in liquor stores throughout the state of Tennessee. But a state law that passed this year will allow it to be sold by grocery and convenience stores starting in July 2016 if citizens vote to approve the change, according to a report from the Associated Press.

Red White and Food, a coalition that lobbied for the change, reported last week that 61 municipalities had submitted petitions to their election commissions, enough to put the referendum on the ballot this fall.

While the concept of broader wine sales has broad public support according to various polls, the measure had failed in several legislative sessions amid opposition from liquor wholesalers and package store owners.