COLUMBUS, Ohio - The bipartisan Ohio Ballot Board on Monday unanimously advanced a proposed state constitutional amendment that would increase the minimum wage to $15 an hour, which allows backers to begin collecting signatures to get on the ballot.
The backers of the campaign, called Raise the Wage Ohio, hope to put the proposal on the ballot in November 2024, said Maricela Gutierrez, organizing director with One Fair Wage. One Fair Wage, SEIU, a workers union, and the Ohio Organizing Collaborative, are behind the effort.
The Ballot Board didn’t vote the merits of the proposal, but rather whether the proposal contains one or more constitutional amendments, said Ohio Secretary of State Frank LaRose, who leads the Ballot Board. Ohio law requires each proposed amendment to be a separate issue on the ballot.
The board agreed with supporters that the proposal contained just one amendment proposal. Backers now can begin collecting 413,000 signatures of registered voters to qualify for the ballot. Gutierrez said that the goal is to get 650,000 total signatures. The campaign plans to use mostly volunteer signature gatherers.
The Ohio Restaurant Association is opposed to the proposal. On March 30, a representative of the association attended a hearing on a bill that would make it harder to amend the Ohio Constitution, raising the threshold at the ballot box from a 50% plus one vote simple majority to a 60% super majority. Unlike many of the backers of that 60% proposal, who are...
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