MUNSTER, Ind. — Alcohol can't be sold during election hours in Indiana's second-most populous county even though no one's going to the voting booths.

The state Legislature passed a bill mandating a referendum in Lake County and three others on creating a northwestern Indiana transportation district. But officials in Lake and LaPorte counties refused to approve money for a special election on Tuesday that wouldn't have anything else on the ballot.

State Alcohol and Tobacco Commission chairman Thomas Snow says the agency must enforce the Election Day ban in those counties since the referendum is mandated by state law.

The Times of Munster reports that the agency ordered alcohol permit holders to not sell alcohol from 3 a.m. to 6 p.m. Tuesday.

Snow says state excise police officers will issue citations for violations.