Some Democrats in the New Jersey Senate are talking about putting a constitutional amendment to raise the minimum wage on the 2013 election ballot.

The Assembly passed a bill in May to boost New Jersey’s $7.25 an hour minimum wage to $8.50, but it’s stalled in the Senate.

Montclair State political science professor Brigid Harrison says putting it on the ballot could help Democrats in next year’s gubernatorial election.

“One of the things that we would see coming out of this is a high level of activism by labor unions supporting the measure, and Democrats are thinking that if we can drive labor participation it makes the chances of whoever the Democratic nominee is much more successful.”

Fairleigh Dickinson political scientist Peter Woolley says just threatening to put the minimum wage hike on the ballot is a good way for Democrats to shape the political agenda.