Mainers will likely vote in November on a proposal to raise the minimum wage in the state.
The Secretary of State’s Office announced Tuesday that supporters of the citizen’s initiative to raise the minimum wage to $9 an hour in 2017 – and $1 an hour each year after, until it reaches $12 an hour in 2020 – had collected enough signatures to move the measure forward.
The supporters handed in 86,438 signatures on Jan. 14 and the secretary’s office found that 75,275 were valid. The initiative needed 61,123 signatures to be considered valid.
The initiative will now go to the Maine Legislature, which has the option to enact it. However, in most cases, the Legislature chooses to put the question on the ballot for a statewide vote instead.
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