Minimum Wage at the Ballot Box this November

The National Council of State Legislature (NCSL) reports that five states will have minimum wage measures on the ballot this November. Four states, Alaska, Arkansas, Nebraska and South Dakota have citizen initiatives that would amend state statutes to raise the minimum wage. In the other state, Illinois, the legislature has placed an advisory question on the ballot asking voters if they support increasing the minimum wage to $10 by January 1, 2015.

The following are the details NCSL provides on the four binding ballot questions:

State	Question
Alaska	Proposes a two-step increase to the state’s minimum wage, currently $7.75, to: v  $8.75 effective Jan. 1, 2015, and v  $9.75 effective Jan. 1, 2016.
Arkansas	Proposes a three-step increase to the state’s minimum wage, currently $6.25, to: v  $7.50 effective Jan. 1, 2015, v  $8 effective Jan. 1, 2016, and v  $8.50 effective Jan. 1, 2017.
Nebraska	Proposes a two-step increase in the state’s minimum wage, which is currently $7.25, to: v  $8 effective Jan. 1, 2015 and v  $9 effective Jan. 1, 2016.
South Dakota	Proposes an increase in the state’s minimum wage, which is currently $7.25, to $8.50 effective Jan. 1, 2015, and provides for automatic annual increases in subsequent years, based on inflation.