Politics & Government

Should New Jersey Raise the Minimum Wage?

Recent polls show strong support for a constitutional amendment that would raise the minimum wage to $8.25 an hour.

New Jersey voters may pass a minimum wage amendment by a wide margin, if recent polls bear out in November.

A ballot question asks voters if they support a constitutional amendment to increase the state’s minimum wage by $1 to $8.25 per hour.

The amendment would also incorporate future cost of living increases to the minimum wage.A Rutgers-Eagleton poll released Monday indicated 76 percent of likely voters support the amendment.
Gov. Chris Christie opposed the amendment, but 60 percent of his supporters favoring the ballot question’s passage, according to a press release issued by Rutgers.

Backers of Democratic gubernatorial candidate Barbara Buono, who supports the amendment, favor the question by 94 percent. Support for the amendment crosses party lines, with 93 percent of Democrats, 67 percent of independents and 58 percent of Republicans in favor of the amendment passing.

A Monmouth University-Asbury Park Press poll, also released Monday, showed similar results. Some 65 percent of registered voters say they will vote in favor of this measure; 12 percent say they will vote against it; and 22 percent are undecided.

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