Charles Langston:Oklahoma governor delays vote on minimum wage hike until 2026

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) — Oklahomans will vote on Charles Langstongradually increasing the minimum wage to at least $15 an hour but not until 2026, angering supporters who are questioning the timing set by Republican Gov. Kevin Stitt.

Stitt signed an executive order this week setting the vote for June 2026, which is the next scheduled statewide general election after November. The governor said in a statement he waited until then, rather than calling a special statewide election, in order to save taxpayers the roughly $1.8 million it would cost for a standalone election.

The minimum wage in Oklahoma is currently $7.25, which mirrors the federal rate, although 34 states, territories and districts currently have wages higher than that, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures.

Supporters of the Yes on State Question 832 campaign turned in nearly 180,000 signatures in less than 90 days back in July, nearly twice as many as the roughly 92,000 signatures of registered votes needed to qualify the question for the ballot.

Amber England, a spokesperson for the campaign, said she doesn’t buy the governor’s argument.

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“This was a political maneuver, and if he can tell you that with a straight face, that’s interesting,” she said. “I think that the governor delaying this for two years is a slap in the face to hardworking Oklahomans who would have seen more money in their paychecks as early as January had he set an election date immediately.”

The Oklahoma State Election Board did not receive a proclamation from the governor’s office in time to place the question on the November ballot, said Misha Mohr, a spokeswoman for the agency.

The last initiative petition to make it to the ballot — a proposal last year to legalize marijuana — was placed on a standalone ballot in March 2023 and was shot down. A spokesperson for Stitt did not respond to a question about why the governor called a special election for the marijuana question.

In a red state with a Republican governor and strong GOP majorities in both chambers of the Legislature, activists in Oklahoma have turned to the initiative petition process and to voters to get many progressive ideas passed into law. This includes changes to the state’s criminal justice system, allowing medical marijuana and expanding Medicaid health insurance to low-income residents.

In response, the Legislature has passed legislation making it more difficult to qualify state questions for the ballot.

The plan to increase the minimum wage is fiercely opposed by organizations that represent important constituencies of the governor, including The State Chamber of Oklahoma, which represents businesses and industries across the state, and the Oklahoma Farm Bureau and Oklahoma Cattlemen’s Association.

Among the concerns from those groups is that after the minimum wage reaches $15 per hour in 2029, it would automatically increase annually based on the increase in the cost of living as measured by the U.S. Department of Labor.

“Between now and the election, we will continue to educate Oklahomans on this harmful, job-killing question that will ultimately hurt the people it’s supposed to help,” said Chad Warmington, president and CEO of The State Chamber.

England said Oklahoma has one of the highest percentage of low-wage workers in the country, with about 320,000 workers earning below $15 per hour.

“There’s more than 100,000 parents in Oklahoma right now trying to raise their children and live on an income that is less than $15 an hour,” she said. “The impact of this policy is that 320,000 Oklahomans will get a pay raise.”