A proposed initiated act to gradually raise the state’s minimum wage by $2.50 an hour by 2021 will be on the Nov. 6 general election ballot, an official in the secretary of state’s office said Thursday.
Director of Elections Leslie Bellamy said in a letter to the proposal’s author, David Couch, that the office has determined that he turned in no more than 84,526 valid signatures of registered voters. That’s more than the 67,887 valid signatures required to qualify the measure for the ballot.
The proposed initiated act would boost the state’s minimum wage from $8.50 per hour to $11 per hour by 2021.
The initiated act will be Issue Five on the ballot this year. Voters will also consider whether to limit damages awarded in lawsuits, amend the Arkansas Constitution to require photo identification to vote, and impose stricter term limits for lawmakers. A group working to legalize casinos in Arkansas has until next week to submit additional signatures needed to qualify for the ballot.
Read Friday's Arkansas Democrat-Gazette for full details.
The Associated Press contributed to this story.