The public will likely be able to vote in November on whether to repeal Iowa City’s 21-ordinance, city officials announced Thursday after validating enough petition signatures to get the issue on the ballot.

In total, the City Clerk’s office validated 2,961 signatures submitted by Yes to Entertaining Students Safely, a group opposed to the ordinance, said City Clerk Marian Karr. The group needed 2,500 to put the measure to a vote on Nov. 2.

The Iowa City City Council now has 30 days to either repeal the ordinance itself or put it to a vote in November, which many agree is the more likely scenario. City councilors plan to discuss the matter at their July 12 meeting.

Those against the 21-ordinance are looking to motivate the same outpouring of support they had in 2007, when voters decided to keep the bar entry age at 19.

While proponents of keeping the measure in place said they knew a public vote was inevitable, they plan to keep up the fight.

Data have shown University of Iowa students are getting substantially more drunk in recent years, to the point of being dangerous. UI Student Health statistics show blood-alcohol concentrations for students with alcohol-related violations rose from 0.13-0.17 to 0.18-0.25 in the most recent five-year period.

Since the 21-ordinance took effect on June 1 — kicking all 19- and 20-year-olds out of bars after 10 p.m. — police have said they noticed a decrease in calls to downtown, even for the slower summer months.

Calling it a sad situation, City Councilor Connie Champion spoke somberly about the issue, saying councilors will work to inform students and community members on reasons to vote to keep the 21-ordinance.

“We’re up against some battles to educate the public,” she said. “I think we’ve had a lot of young people in trouble downtown — they are really affecting their lives for the long-term.”

Anti-21 fundraising efforts have begun. Tom Lenoch — the general manager at One-Eyed Jakes, Vito’s, and the Summit — said he believes the Employee Party Iowa City party at Union Bar on May 2 raised roughly $7,000. In 2007, the Bloc-21 group, which fueled the anti-21 movement, pulled in more than $16,000 in donations to defeat the ordinance at bay.

While a pro-21-ordinance group existed in 2007, one has yet to surface this year.

Lenoch said there is plenty of work to be accomplished in the four months before voters head to the polls.

“We have to focus on getting voter support in the community,” he said. “Now that we have a month of figures behind us and a month of observations, we have a little more proof to back up what we say.”

But getting out the student vote may be more difficult this year than in 2007, when most of the campaigning occurred inside the bars with the 19- and 20-year-olds.

“Previously, [the ordinance] was an impending threat; now it’s the status quo,” said Atul Nakhasi, an adviser to the anti-21 group and a key proponent in the 2007 movement. “We’ll have to do a greater job of raising awareness about the dangers of the ordinance, and that will make itself evident.”

While specific campaigning efforts have yet to be formulated, Lenoch said he believes the community showed support against the 21-ordinance with a successful petition.

“Whether we win or not is a completely different story,” he said. “The fact is that the community wants to vote, and it was apparent by people signing [the petition].”

Not all those with an opinion on the 21-ordinance are still able to speak up.

University of Iowa officials, including President Sally Mason, have supported the 21-ordinance.

However, the UI is no longer able to take a stance on the measure.

“This is for voters to decide,” UI spokesman Tom Moore said.

UI officials cannot ethically campaign for a ballot issue, Charlie Smithson of the Iowa Ethics & Campaign Disclosure Board told The Daily Iowan in April.

Regardless of the outcome this year, Champion said she remains confident the City Council will get the “problem” taken care of.

“If the referendum passes, if they don’t correct the problem, I’ll bring this up again in two years, and we’ll eventually get this done,” Champion said.