Two Frisco residents have sued Denton County over a local-option election in Precinct 2 conducted in May, alleging the election was invalid.

Residents Al Gibson and Richard Belyan filed suit June 23 in the 158th District Court, asking not only for the election results to be thrown out, but also for the court to issue temporary and permanent injunctions.

The pair’s attorney, Richard Abernathy, did not return a call for comment.

According to records from the Denton County Elections Administration, more than 57 percent of voters in Precinct 2 — or 643 of the 1,117 ballots cast — voted in favor of the sale of all alcoholic beverages, including mixed drinks.

County commissioners assigned the case to the civil division of the district attorney’s office after an executive session on the case last week.

Because the county’s deadline to respond has not yet passed, County Judge Mary Horn said she could not comment on the case.

“We just have to let the process move through,” Horn said.

In their plea to the court, Gibson and Belyan claimed that part of the territory now in Precinct 2 used to be in Precincts 3 and 6. Elections in those original precincts had previously prohibited the sale of alcohol. They allege that, because the May 2009 election did not include all the original territory under prohibition, as required by law, the election is void.

The pair asked that the court issue a temporary injunction against enforcing the election, which included preventing anyone from obtaining a license or permit to sell alcohol in the area. They also asked for court costs, attorney fees and other relief related to the suit.

In 2002, Steve Nichols, then a Frisco City Council member, sued the city of Frisco a week before it held a local-option election in February of that year. While he sued on the grounds that some of the signatures on the petition for the election were invalid, he also opposed the measure along with the Frisco Ministerial Alliance.

According to court records, a Collin County judge directed an order of nonsuit in November 2003. A nonsuit order means that the plaintiff has been unable to prove his case or has not pursued it.

PEGGY HEINKEL-WOLFE can be reached at 940-566-6881. Her e-mail address is pheinkel-wolfe@dentonrc.com .