Minimum-wage hike likely headed to Colorado ballot in November

A vote to raise Colorado’s minimum wage appears to be a certainty for the November ballot, as proponents said Thursday afternoon they expect to deliver 200,000 petition signatures to the secretary of state’s office Monday.

Initiative 101 would raise the Colorado minimum wage to $12 an hour by 2020. The current state minimum wage is $8.31. The federal minimum wage is $7.25.

“We’re so excited to have this much support,” said Lizeth Chacon, co-chairwoman of Colorado Families for a Fair Wage. “It’s indicative of the need and the excitment that’s out there to get this on the ballot.”

The campaign needs 98,492 signatures from registered Colorado voters to qualify for a statewide vote. Some signatures on ballot initiatives typically are rejected because of duplications, the signer not being a registered Colorado voter or other reasons. But with more than twice the needed number, it would be surprising for the issue to fail because of too few signatures.

Read more: http://www.denverpost.com/2016/07/21/minimum-wage-hike-colorado/