This November could be a big one for low-wage workers in several states.
Minimum wage initiatives are on the ballot in Alaska, Arkansas, Nebraska, and South Dakota. Those are states with Republican legislatures that won't be raising the wage anytime soon, but now voters will have the chance to take matters into their own hands. The odds are good that these measures will pass—aside from the consistently high levels of support in polling on the issue,
voters haven't rejected a minimum-wage hike at the ballot box since 1996 and have approved 13 raises in conservative and liberal-leaning states since then, according to the Ballot Initiative Strategy Center.
The increases being voted on wouldn't take the minimum wage to a living wage—Nebraska would go to $9 an hour under its proposal, Arkansas to $8.50—but they'd make a difference in many lives:
If successful, the ballot initiatives would boost wages for 419,000 workers, says the National Employment Law Project. That's on top of the 7 million workers who will benefit from the other state and local increases passed over the previous two years, but still far short of the 28 million workers that the White House estimates would benefit from a national $10.10 rate.
Additionally, having a minimum wage vote on the ballot could help Democrats in close Senate races in Arkansas and Alaska by turning out more low-wage workers to vote; turnout among low-wage voters tends to drop off in midterm elections.