For months, polls had signaled that voters were likely to approve an amendment to the State Constitution that would take the minimum hourly wage to $8.25 on Jan. 1 and then step it up annually to keep pace with inflation. Indeed, the measure passed easily on Tuesday: With 59 percent of precincts reporting, voters approved it by a margin of 60.4 percent to 39.6 percent, an outcome that pleased labor leaders and dismayed representatives of the business community.
Gov. Chris Christie, a Republican, and business leaders argued that the measure, which was put forth by Democrats after the governor blocked legislation for a similar increase, would harm the state’s fragile economy and could cause the loss of jobs. But advocates for low-wage workers countered that academic studies show that raising the minimum wage has only minor effects on employment and provides stimulus to the economy by putting more money in the hands of people most likely to
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