After years of debate and a one-year taste of alcohol-free beaches, San Diego voters finally kicked beer off the beach with the passage of Prop D. The San Diego County Registrar of Voters put the numbers at 214,215 votes in favor of Prop D and 188,815 votes against it. About 220,000 absentee and provisional ballots still need to be counted, according to county officials. Because only San Diego residents could vote on Prop D, the final count may not change the outcome, officials said. Scott Chipman, the Yes on D campaign spokesman, said the success of the Yes campaign is owed to city residents who saw the difference the temporary ban made over the past year. “I see this as a restoration of liberties for people who want to come to a public park” he said, “and for those people who come from all over the world to not have their vacation spoiled by problems associated with binge drinking,” he said. Chipman, a 33-year Pacific Beach resident, worked on the campaign for the last two years, he said. District 2 Councilman Kevin Faulconer backed the ban after a 2007 Labor Day brawl involving a crowd of people broke out at the foot of Reed Street, bringing scores of police in riot gear to the beach to break up the crowd. City Council first approved the one-year temporary ban in November 2007. It would have expired in January 2009. The No on D campaign has always said the ability to drink alcohol on the beach should not be ruined by a small group of rowdy people. The anti-ban group also campaigned on pressuring city officials to offer “real solutions” to problems associated with alcohol on the beaches such as increasing law enforcement or adding more public restrooms in the beach areas. A spokesperson for the No on D campaign was not available for comment. The contentious beach-alcohol debate resulted in close elections over the years. This is the third time San Diego residents have voted on the issue. The last time San Diegans voted on it before this week was in November 2002 when it failed to pass by small margin.