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Voters will decide on a number of initiatives on Tuesday (November 8) related to healthcare and finances, including expanding Medicaid in South Dakota, increasing the minimum wage in Nebraska and Nevada, and raising taxes on the wealthy in California and Massachussetts, per CNN.
South Dakota's Amendment D could broaden Medicaid to about 42,500 low-income residents starting in 2023 if passed. Over 60 organizations are backing the proposal that would make way for adults making less than $19,000 a year to receive coverage.
Under the state's current provisions, childless adults are ineligible for Medicaid, and those who are parents must have very low incomes to qualify — about $1,000 a month for a family of four.
Many Republicans, including South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem, aren't in favor of Amendment D due to its potential cost for the state, but a South Dakota State University poll found that 53 percent of likely registered voters support the measure.
Nebraskans will cast their vote on whether to raise the state's minimum wage from $9 an hour to $15 by 2026 under Initiative 433.
According to the National Employment Law Project and the Economic Policy Institute, the measure would benefit nearly 150,000 workers. Yet, on the other side of the aisle, challengers say that Initiative 433 would hurt businesses and decrease employment opportunities for youth.
“The proposed increase in the initiative is a 66.7% increase over four years,” Bud Synhorst, CEO of the Lincoln Independent Business Association, said in a statement. “That is a radical increase that will be felt across the economy.”
In Nevada, voters will also have their say on a minimum wage increase to $12 an hour by 2024 through a constitutional amendment, Question 2 on the ballot. The measure would remove existing guidelines that set different rates for minimum wage based on health benefits.
The state's minimum wage is already set to rise to $11 an hour for workers who receive health benefits from their employer and to $12 for those who don't in 2024. However, supporters of Question 2 say the initiative would give workers a constitutional guarantee of a $12 hourly minimum wage that couldn't be reduced by lawmakers in the future.
California has a measure on the ballot, Proposition 30, that would add a 1.75 percent surtax on people making more than $2 million a year, on top of the state's highest income tax rate of 12.3 percent. Most of the funds from the tax would be directed to zero-emission vehicles and wildfire prevention and control.
Supporters say the measure will help address climate change in California, while its opponents say Prop 30, which is largely backed by Lyft, is the company's attempt at getting tax-payers to foot its bills.
The Massachusetts ballot measure, Question 1, would impose a 4 percent surtax on those who earn more than $1 million, on top of the state’s existing 5 percent income tax rate. The funds from the measure would go toward education, roads, bridges, and public transit.
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