Wages, animal rights on agenda

Minimum wage:

It’s not quite $15 (Dh55) an hour, but hundreds of thousands of workers in Arkansas and Missouri will get raises after voters in the two states approved increases to the minimum wages. In Arkansas, the rate will increase from $8.50 to $11 an hour by 2021; in Missouri the wage will ramp up from the current $7.85 to $12 an hour by 2023.

Americans’ ability to exercise their right to vote has been under pressure since the supreme court invalidated parts of the Voting Rights Act in 2013. Five states had voting rights issues on their ballots on Tuesday night, including Florida, where voters chose to restore the franchise to 1.5m people who were convicted of felonies and have completed their sentences. Activists who fought to pass Amendment 4 cheered the victory, which represents the largest expansion of voting rights in decades. Maryland approved a measure that will expand voting rights by allowing same-day registration, and Nevada enacted automatic voter registration when drivers have contact with the department of motor vehicles.

In a blow to factory farms, California’s Proposition 12 passed, establishing minimum space requirements for farm animals. The measure also requires that all egg-laying hens be raised “cage-free” by 2022.

Voting rights: Animal rights: Medicaid expansion:

Four states voted on the expansion of Medicaid coverage to more low-income residents, a key aspect of the Affordable Care Act, known as Obamacare. So far, voters in Nebraska and Idaho have approved the expansion, and the measure is leading in Utah.

A controversial measure that will levy a tax against the largest businesses in San Francisco to fund housing and services for the homeless has passed. The 0.5 per cent gross receipts tax on companies with revenues over $50 million (Dh183 million) had touched off a battle between the city’s tech billionaires, with Salesforce CEO Marc Benioff publicly feuding with Twitter’s Jack Dorsey and other tech titans who complained the tax was unfair.

Tech tax for the homeless: