Oklahoma Gov. Kevin Stitt Moves Minimum Wage Initiative To Primary Ballot‌ ‌

Oklahoma Gov. Kevin Stitt (R) issued an executive order placing State Question 832, the minimum wage increase initiative, on the June 16, 2026, primary election ballot.

State Question 832, which was filed for the Nov. 2024 ballot, was designed to increase the state minimum wage to $9 per hour in 2025, $10.50 per hour in 2026, $12 per hour in 2027, $13.50 per hour in 2028, and $15 per hour in 2029. Beginning in 2030, the wage would be adjusted based on changes to inflation.

The governor’s executive order stated that if the initiative is approved, it would take effect on January 1, 2027, and would not apply retroactively. This means that if the measure is approved, the state’s minimum wage would not increase in 2025 or 2026 but would increase to $12 per hour on Jan. 1, 2027.

Oklahoma is one of 20 states with a federal minimum wage rate of $7.25, established in 2009. The other 30 states set their own minimum wages, all of them higher than the federal wage.

Raise the Wage Oklahoma filed the initiative on Oct. 27, 2023.

In Oklahoma, the initiative process has two challenging periods. After an initiative is first filed, the secretary of state must publish a notice of filing in at least one newspaper. Any citizen may file a protest challenging the initiative’s constitutionality within ten business days of the publication.

A notice of the initiative filing was published on Nov. 3, 2023. The Oklahoma State Chamber of Commerce and the Oklahoma Farm Bureau brought a challenge to the initiative’s constitutionality on Nov. 20, the final day of the challenge period. The state supreme court ruled that the initiative was legally sufficient on March 4, 2024. Sponsors can begin collecting signatures between 15 and 30 days after the court resolves any filed protests. The initiative was cleared for its 90-day signature gathering period between April 16 and July 14, 2024.

After signatures are submitted, they are counted by the secretary of state and forwarded to the Supreme Court for review. The final determination by the Supreme Court must be published in at least one newspaper. Any objections relating to the signature validity or the ballot title may be filed within 10 days of that publication. The secretary of state verified that proponents submitted enough valid signatures on Aug. 12, and the state supreme court concurred. The notice of signature sufficiency was published in the newspaper on Aug. 21. After the 10-day challenge period ended with no challenges filed, the secretary of state certified the measure to the state election board and the governor on Sept. 5, 2024.

In Oklahoma, the governor must issue an election proclamation certified to the state election board at least 70 days before an election for a state question to appear on a ballot. For Nov. 5, 2024, the 70-day deadline was Aug. 26, 2024.

In 2024, the Oklahoma State Legislature passed, and Gov. Stitt signed two bills changing the initiative challenge period timeline. Before the 2024 changes, the 10-day challenge period had been in effect since 1973.

On April 23, 2024, Gov. Stitt signed Senate Bill 518 into law, which increased the challenge periods from 10 days to 20 days. SB 518 was passed with 0% support from Democratic legislators and 96% support from Republican legislators.

On May 31, 2024, the governor signed House Bill 1105 into law, which replaced Senate Bill 518 and increased the challenge period timeframe from 10 days to 90 days. HB 1105 was passed with 0% support from Democratic legislators and 98% support from Republican legislators.

House Majority Leader Jon Echols (R-90) said, “[House Bill 1105] will not stop a single initiative petition from eventually hitting the ballot. What it will do is protect the voice of the minority, and it would protect… your right to go to court and my right to go to court.”

The bills each included an emergency provision ordering them to become effective immediately after approval. Despite this change, the state supreme court applied the 10-day challenge period for State Question 832, finding that the state constitution prohibits repealed laws from affecting any proceedings begun under the existing law.

Amber England of Raise the Wage Oklahoma said the bill is a “political power grab by politicians” and that “Oklahoma already has one of the hardest paths to the ballot possible in the country. They are trying to make it completely impossible.”

Ten initiatives have appeared on the ballot in Oklahoma since 2004. Four were approved (40%), and six were defeated (60%).

Initiatives in Oklahoma are generally placed on the next even-year November general election ballot following signature verification, but the governor may choose to call a special election or place the measure on the primary ballot.

Four of the initiatives during this time period were placed on a ballot other than a November general election ballot.

Oklahomans for Sensible Marijuana Laws, proponents of marijuana legalization initiative State Question 820, were initially targeting the 2022 ballot. However, due to legal challenges and statutory deadlines, the measure could not be placed on the 2022 ballot and was set to be voted on at a later election date. Gov. Kevin Stitt (R) called a special election for the measure on March 7, 2023. The initiative was defeated.

In 2020, Gov. Kevin Stitt (R) ordered State Question 802, a Medicaid expansion initiative, to appear on the June 30 primary ballot rather than the November 3 general election ballot. The measure was approved by 50.49% of voters.

Oklahomans for Health sponsored State Question 788, a medical marijuana initiative targeting the 2016 ballot. Due to legal challenges, the measure could not be included on the 2016 ballot. The challenges were resolved in 2017. Gov. Mary Fallin (R) placed it on the June 2018 primary ballot. This was the first time a governor had placed an initiative on a ballot other than a general election ballot since 2005.

In 2005, Gov. Brad Henry (D) placed State Question 723, an initiative to increase the gas tax to fund highway and bridge construction, on a special election ballot on Sept. 13, 2005. The initiative was defeated.

In the upcoming November 2024 ballot, there are five certified ballot measures addressing minimum wages. Alaska Ballot Measure 1 aims to increase the minimum wage to $15 per hour by July 1, 2027. Arizona Proposition 138 would allow for tipped workers to be paid 25% less per hour than the minimum wage if any tips received by the employee were not less than the minimum wage plus $2 for all hours worked. California Proposition 32 proposes to raise the state minimum wage to $18 per hour by 2026. Massachusetts Question 5 seeks to increase the wage of tipped employees until it meets the state minimum wage of $15 per hour by 2029. Finally, Missouri Proposition A aims to increase the minimum wage to $15 per hour in 2026.

Across the U.S., from 1996 to 2022, 28 minimum wage increase measures were on the ballot. Voters approved 26 (92.86%) and rejected two (7.14%). The two measures that were rejected were in Montana and Missouri during the 1996 elections.

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