More than 60 per cent of voters in the conservative state supported an increase in the state’s minimum wage to $15.
The referendum was held simultaneously with the presidential election and will see the state minimum wage raised from $8.56 to $10 an hour beginning in September 2021, increasing by $1 annually through to 2026.
The measure makes Florida the eighth state in the US with a $15 minimum wage. The federal minimum wage is $7.25 and has not increased since 2009.
Support for a stronger minimum wage transcended party politics in Florida.
Donald Trump rejected the policy of increasing the minimum wage in one of the presidential debates. Joe Biden strongly supported it.
But in Florida, support for the increase surpassed the 60 per cent needed in a state where Trump got 51.2 per cent of the vote and Biden only got 47.9 per cent.
Florida is the first state to achieve an improved minimum wage through a ballot initiative rather than congressional legislation.
The distinction is important with Florida’s amendment being viewed as a nationwide test for voter support, and it passed with flying colours.
“You know, we had a lot of naysayers out there, such as big companies and politicians. But we proved them wrong,” said Alex Harris, an organiser for the group Fight For $15.