[A review of key ballot measures from the 2022 midterm elections]
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VOTERS TURNED OUT FOR ECONOMIC JUSTICE  
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Nina Mast, Lea Woods, Jennifer Sherer
November 17, 2022
Economic Policy Institute
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_ A review of key ballot measures from the 2022 midterm elections _

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In this year’s midterm elections, voters showed a strong level of
support for progressive ballot measures across the country. These
victories were tempered by the defeat of worthwhile ballot measures in
some states and the uncertainty of progress under a divided Congress.
Nonetheless, voters across the country approved minimum wage
increases, protected access to abortion, supported cannabis
legalization, and approved measures to increase housing affordability
and promote good union jobs.

Though much work remains to be done to enact a progressive economic
agenda, this midterm election showed clear signs of support for a
policy agenda that prioritizes economic, racial, and gender justice
for working families.

Minimum wage

NEBRASKA: Voters approved
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433, which will increase the state’s minimum wage to $15 by 2026.

NEVADA: Voters approved
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2, which will increase the state’s minimum wage to $12 in July 2024.
The measure also removed a provision that allows employers to pay
workers $1 less if they offer health insurance.

_TIPPED MINIMUM WAGE_

Voters in Washington, D.C. and Portland, Maine considered ballot
measure to eliminate the subminimum wage for tipped workers. The
tipped minimum wage system, which allows employers to pay workers well
below the minimum wage, is a legacy of slavery
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disproportionately harms workers of color and women. Over 3 million
tipped workers
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are paid below their state’s minimum wage for as little as $2.13 an
hour. Meanwhile, workers in states with one fair wage have higher
take-home pay and are less likely to live in poverty than workers in
states that pay tipped workers the federal minimum of $2.13.

WASHINGTON, D.C.: Voters approved
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82, eliminating the subminimum wage and raising the wage floor for
tipped workers from $5.35 to $16.10 by 2027. A similar initiative was
passed in 2018 but was overturned by the D.C. City Council and Mayor
Muriel Bowser.

PORTLAND, MAINE: Voters rejected
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D, which would have raised the overall minimum wage to $18 by 2025 and
eliminated the subminimum wage for tipped work. The measure would have
also classified app-based workers as employees and established a
Department of Fair Labor Practices to investigate and enforce labor
standards at the city level. The Maine Center for Economic Policy, a
partner of EPI’s Economic Analysis and Research Network (EARN),
estimates that over a third
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Maine workers would have earned higher wages as a result of the
change. An increased minimum wage would have primarily benefited women
and workers of color in the state.

Workers’ rights

NEW YORK: Voters approved
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Clean Water, Clean Air, and Green Jobs Environmental Bond Act of 2022,
which establishes prevailing wage standards on construction projects.
The bill also allows
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state and municipalities to require contractors to execute labor peace
agreements and buy American for structural iron and steel.

ILLINOIS: Voters approved
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1, which will prevent lawmakers from passing so-called
“right-to-work” laws and give workers a constitutional right to
collectively bargain over wages, hours, and working conditions.

However, in TENNESSEE, so-called “right-to-work” was
further entrenched
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the ballot box. Voters approved Amendment 1, enshrining
“right-to-work” in the state’s constitution and making efforts
to repeal the law much more difficult. EPI research has shown
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states with so-called “right-to-work” laws, which are designed to
weaken unions financially, have lower wages for both unionized and
nonunionized workers than states without such laws.

Free school meals

COLORADO: Voters approved
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FF to provide free meals for all public school students in the state.
The measure, which will also fund pay increases for school cafeteria
workers, will be funded by limiting state income tax deductions by
households earning more than $300,000 annually. Colorado Fiscal
Institute, an EARN partner, called
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initiative a “fair, equitable” measure that “will boost the
physical and economic health of our communities.”

Tax fairness

MASSACHUSETTS: Voters approved Question 1, an amendment to the
state’s constitution that will increase taxes on the state’s
richest residents. The Massachusetts Budget and Policy Center, an EARN
partner, estimates
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the tax will generate at least $2 billion a year for investments in
public education and affordable transportation.

Health Care

_Medicaid Expansion_

SOUTH DAKOTA: Voters approved Constitutional Amendment D, which will
require the state to provide Medicaid benefits to adults between 18
and 65 with incomes below 133% of the federal poverty level. Though
the Affordable Care Act offered to pay 90% of states’ costs to
expand Medicaid eligibility, 12 states have yet to expand eligibility.
As a result, over 3.5 million
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people of color—lack affordable health care coverage. South Dakota
is the seventh state
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expand Medicaid through the ballot initiative process. An additional
45,000 South Dakotans will qualify
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Medicaid under the expanded program, 14,000 of whom are American
Indian.

_Abortion_

Voters in KENTUCKY rejected an amendment that would eliminate
residents’ right to reproductive freedom and prohibit the use of
public funds for abortion. The right to an abortion is a matter
of economic security [[link removed]],
independence, and mobility for millions of women across the country.
People who are denied abortion access are more likely to live in
poverty
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be unemployed, and face other adverse economic outcomes. Kentucky
currently has an abortion plan in place, but the state Supreme
Court will consider
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constitutionality of the ban this week. 

CALIFORNIA, MICHIGAN, and VERMONT voters approved
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that enshrine reproductive rights, including the rights to
contraception and abortion, into the state constitution.

Criminal justice

_Constitutional amendments to abolish slavery_

Voters in OREGON
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and ALABAMA
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measures that remove language in their state constitutions permitting
slavery or involuntary servitude as punishment for a
crime. LOUISIANA voters rejected
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remove language permitting slavery from the constitution after the
amendment’s sponsor expressed concerns that the measure’s
confusing wording could inadvertently erode protections against
slavery. Louisiana voters will consider a revised measure in 2023.

Many state constitutions retain language similar to the
13th Amendment to the U.S Constitution, which prohibits slavery and
involuntary servitude _except_ as punishment for a crime.
The Abolish Slavery National Network
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the country—and other civil rights advocates argue
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extremely low-paid (or, in some cases, unpaid
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American prisons amounts to modern slavery. Incarcerated workers are
not only exempt from minimum wage laws but are also denied
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protection, workplace safety guarantees, and the right to unionize.
Supporters see these slavery abolition amendments as an initial step
in disrupting the power dynamic between incarcerated workers and
prison staff and establishing basic rights for the incarcerated
workforce.

_Cannabis legalization_

Marijuana is now legal
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use recreationally in 21 states, Washington, D.C., and Guam. As
legalization efforts gain momentum in states across the country, it
is critical
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lawmakers protect cannabis workers’ collective bargaining rights to
ensure that this emerging industry provides safe, good-paying, and
community-sustaining jobs.

MARYLAND: Voters approved
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4, which permits residents to possess, smoke, and grow marijuana
(within limits) and allows the General Assembly to tax the sale of
marijuana. Companion legislation to the amendment proposes an
expungement process for past marijuana convictions and an assistance
fund for small, BIPOC-owned, or woman-owned businesses. Maryland
Center on Economic Policy, an EARN partner, estimated
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decriminalization would save the state tens of millions of dollars on
enforcement costs and that taxing the sale of marijuana would generate
hundreds of millions in revenue for the state.

MISSOURI: Voters approved
[[link removed]] Amendment
3, which legalizes recreational marijuana and will automatically
expunge the records of individuals who were convicted of non-violent
marijuana offenses and are not currently incarcerated. Currently
incarcerated individuals can petition for release from incarceration,
probation, or parole. State advocacy groups estimate that record
expungement will impact thousands
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Missourians whose marijuana offense convictions limited access to
employment, housing, and the social safety net.

Meanwhile, ARKANSAS, NORTH DAKOTA, and SOUTH
DAKOTA voters rejected
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legalization.

Affordable housing

Voters in several states and localities approved measures to fund the
construction of affordable housing. As the housing shortage grows
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housing becomes increasingly unaffordable, particularly for
communities of color and low- to moderate-income families, affordable
housing construction has become an especially urgent priority.
In KANSAS CITY, voters approved
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2, which allows the city to spend $50 million over five years to build
affordable housing units for low-income residents.

COLORADO voters approved
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only state-wide affordable housing measure on the ballot this
November. Proposition 123 will direct $300 million of the state’s
taxable income to help essential workers like teachers and nurses buy
homes, as well as help local governments increase housing supply.
According to Colorado Fiscal Institute, an EARN partner, minimum wage
workers in Colorado would need to work 75 hours a week
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afford a one-bedroom apartment.

LOS ANGELES voters approved
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LH, which grants the city authority to develop 75,000 units of
affordable housing for seniors, unhoused, and low-income residents.
Measure ULA, which will raise $1 billion per year for affordable
housing and homelessness efforts in the city by taxing property sales
over $5 million, also appeared likely to pass
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of this writing.

And AUSTIN voters approved
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A, the city’s largest ever affordable housing bond. The $350 million
bond will be used to build and preserve affordable housing for Austin
residents with annual incomes below $61,800.

When given the opportunity, millions of voters across the country
showed their support for policies that will strengthen workers’
rights, reproductive justice, and racial equity. Lawmakers at every
level of government should take note.

_NINA MAST is an economic analyst for the Economic Analysis and
Research Network (EARN) at EPI. Mast is a recent graduate of the
Master of Public Policy program at UC Berkeley’s Goldman School,
where she served as a researcher for the UC Berkeley Labor Center and
represented academic student employees as a union steward with
UAW-2865._

_Before graduate school, Mast worked as a researcher in the labor
movement and at issue advocacy organizations focused on health care
and the economy. At SEIU Local 32BJ, she conducted research to support
fast-food workers in Connecticut and commercial cleaning workers in
New York. Prior to 32BJ, she worked on issue campaigns at The Hub
Project and efforts to advance a progressive economic worldview at the
Groundwork Collaborative._

_LEA WOODS joined the Economic Analysis and Research Network (EARN) at
EPI in 2021 as a learning community organizer, coordinating
conferences and convenings for state-level advocacy groups. Woods
previously worked in fundraising and communications at nonprofits
that promote women’s economic security and political power,
including the Institute for Women’s Policy Research and the Center
for Women’s Leadership. Additional political experience includes
interning in a congressional office and working on a gubernatorial
reelection campaign._

_JENNIFER SHERER is senior state policy coordinator for the Economic
Analysis and Research Network (EARN) Worker Power Project. Her work
focuses on expanding the ability of working people to achieve racial,
gender, and economic justice through organizing, collective
bargaining, and public policies that promote worker voice._

_Prior to joining EPI in 2021, Sherer served as director of the
University of Iowa Labor Center, leading statewide worker outreach,
education, and leadership development programming in close partnership
with labor unions and community organizations. As director, she
coordinated interdisciplinary research and engagement; taught on a
range of worker rights, gender and racial justice, and labor policy
subjects; and led initiatives to extend labor education to new
audiences. Her published work includes articles on wage theft,
public-sector collective bargaining, women’s labor education, and
working-class voters. While at the Labor Center, Sherer also directed
the Iowa Labor History Oral Project, helped found the Center for
Worker Justice of Eastern Iowa, co-coordinated the Midwest School for
Women Workers, and served on the boards of the Labor and Working Class
History Association and Labor Studies Journal._

_Sherer first became active in the labor movement over 20 years ago as
a local union officer, a project staff organizer for the United
Electrical, Radio, and Machine Workers (UE), and a leader of student
anti-sweatshop campaigns while earning her PhD. She has since served
as a local labor council delegate, volunteered in dozens of issue
campaigns, and walked many picket lines. She is a board member of
Common Good Iowa (formerly the Iowa Policy Project)._

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* elections
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* ballot initiatives
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* Minimum Wage
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* workers rights
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* school lunch program
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* tax fairness
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* Health Care
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* abortion
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* criminal justice
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* cannabis
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* affordable housing
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