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orywireOklahoma voters rejected State Question 832, the ballot measure that would have raised the state minimum wage to $15 an hour by 2029. The vote means Oklahoma’s minimum wage remains unchanged unless lawmakers or voters approve a future increase.
Oklahoma voters rejected State Question 832, so the state minimum wage will not rise to $15 an hour under the ballot measure. Unofficial returns reported by local election coverage showed the proposal failing by about 55% to 45%, and the Oklahoma State Election Board says June 16 results remain unofficial until certified.
State Question 832 was defeated in Oklahoma’s June 16 primary election. KXII reported that, with nearly all votes tallied, 55.57% of voters opposed the measure and 44.43% supported it.
The Oklahoma State Election Board’s results page labeled the June 16 returns unofficial and unverified. The board said results are subject to contest and recount and are not final until certified by the appropriate election board.
The outcome means the ballot measure did not create a new state wage schedule. Oklahoma’s minimum wage rules remain in place unless changed later by the Legislature, Congress or another ballot measure.
State Question 832 would have amended the Oklahoma Minimum Wage Act to raise the state minimum wage in steps, reaching $15 an hour by 2029. Beginning in 2030, the measure would have tied future annual increases to cost-of-living changes measured by the Consumer Price Index for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers.
The official ballot title also said the measure would have removed several exemptions from the Oklahoma Minimum Wage Act. Those included exemptions involving part-time employees, certain students and workers under 18, farm and agricultural workers, domestic service workers, newspaper vendors and carriers, and feedstore employees.
Because voters rejected the proposal, none of those changes take effect from State Question 832.
For most covered workers, the practical wage floor in Oklahoma remains $7.25 an hour. The U.S. Department of Labor lists Oklahoma’s basic minimum rate at $7.25 for employers with 10 or more full-time employees at one location or annual gross sales over $100,000, and says Oklahoma adopts the federal minimum wage rate by reference.
Some coverage rules and exemptions can still matter. Workers and employers should check state and federal wage rules for specific situations, especially if an employer is small, has unusual coverage questions or is subject to the federal Fair Labor Standards Act.
The vote also means there is no automatic inflation adjustment for Oklahoma’s state minimum wage from this ballot measure.
The State Election Board said June 16 results are unofficial until certification. The board’s election page said county certification was scheduled after June 19, while results for state and federal elections were scheduled for State Election Board certification on June 23, unless a contest of election or petition for recount delays the process.
Janeese Lewis George won the Democratic primary for D.C. mayor after Kenyan McDuffie conceded. Results remain unofficial pending D.C. Board of Elections certification.
Mike Collins won Georgia’s Republican U.S. Senate runoff, and Rick Jackson won the Republican runoff for governor, according to AP race calls and unofficial state returns. The results set up November matchups against Sen. Jon Ossoff and Keisha Lance Bottoms.
That means the public result is clear, but certified totals should still be checked once the State Election Board posts final certification.
Readers looking for official updates should check the Oklahoma State Election Board’s June 16 election results page and any later certification notice.
This article should be updated after state certification, or sooner if an election contest, recount request or corrected official result changes the posted totals.
North Dakota’s June 9 primary returns are available through the Secretary of State’s election results site. Results remain unofficial until county and state canvassing boards complete certification.
