- Four states — Alaska, California, Massachusetts, and Missouri — are voting on some form of minimum wage hike.
- In Missouri, voters opted to raise the minimum wage.
Pay is on the ballot tonight, and some workers are set to get a raise.
Four states — Massachusetts, Missouri, California, and Alaska — all have some form of referendum on whether to hike the minimum wage on their ballots. In Massachusetts, workers who rely on tips could see a bump in their base pay, while minimum wage workers in three other states could see a broad pay bump.
In Arizona, voters are weighing in on whether to decrease the tipped minimum wage — provided employers can show that workers' wages are still $2 above the state minimum when accounting for tips.
Shortly after polls closed in Missouri, it was clear that the referendum passed. The other states' voters are still awaiting their results.
Missouri
In Missouri, voters have opted to raise the state's minimum wage to $15 by 2026. The state voted 57.7% in favor of Proposition A, which will first hike the minimum wage to $13.75 an hour on January 1, 2025, and then raise it again to $15 an hour on January 1, 2026.
Starting in 2027, the wage will be pegged to inflation. The measure also mandates that employers give their workers an hour of paid leave for every 30 hours that they work.
As the measure passes, The New York Times' projections show that Missouri voted for President Donald Trump, who said he would "consider" a minimum wage hike if it proved beneficial for small businesses. His opponent, Vice President Kamala Harris, has pledged support for raising the federal minimum wage from $7.25 to $15 an hour.
A group of Missouri business owners in favor of the measure praised Proposition A's passage on Tuesday evening.
"Proposition A will strengthen Missouri's workforce and businesses," David Burmeister, owner of Midwest Pasta Co. in St. Louis, said in a press release. "Raising the minimum wage will increase people's ability to shop at our business and local businesses across Missouri. We've seen that paying better wages is better business. Employees are happier at work and do a better job."