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With all of the attention in this election cycle on newly registered voters, and predictions about high voter turnout, people might be wondering about balancing work with the time it may take to vote. Some states have created early voting windows to try to accommodate everyone, but not all have. Employers and employees may wonder about their rights and responsibilities when it comes to voting.
Enter the Commerce Clearing House (CCH), which has has published a great article summarizing state laws on the topic. The article can be found here, and a chart with specific information by state can be found here.
From the article:
Voting is more than a personal civic duty. In more than half of states, voting takes legal precedence over work, and employers must allow employees time off to cast their ballots.
Employers in many states risk fines or even jail sentences for interfering with an employee's right to exercise the franchise. In other states, however, the law offers no special protection or incentive for someone who takes time out of the workday to vote.
Typically, time-off-to-vote laws require that employees who are registered voters be given time off from work—usually up to two or three hours—in which to visit the polls.
In many cases, however, time off is only guaranteed if the employee does not have sufficient time outside of working hours to cast a ballot. However, the fact that early voting or vote-by-mail is available normally does not relieve the employer of the duty to provide time off on voting day itself.
Read the whole article for more information on particular approaches by state, responsibilities of employees, and penalties employers may face.
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