Ohioans are one step closer to voting on a proposed constitutional amendment that would raise the state’s minimum wage. The petition to start the process of taking that issue to voters has been given the green light by Ohio’s Attorney General.
Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost certified the “Raise the Wage Ohio Amendment” because it had the necessary signatures and its summary language was deemed to fair and truthful. That means the group that wants to raise the wage can take it to the Ohio Ballot Board for approval.
If and when that happens, the group can begin collecting petition signatures. Backers of the amendment would need 442,958 valid petition signatures. That's equal to 10% of the total votes cast in the 2018 gubernatorial election.
Those signatures would need to be obtained from at least 44 of Ohio's 88 counties. In each of those 44 counties, there must be signatures equal to at least 5% of the total vote cast for governor in that county in 2018.
The proposed amendment seeks to increase the minimum wage to $9.60 an hour. It would increase every year so by 2025 it would be up to $13 per hour. After that point, the rate would automatically adjust for inflation every year.
