Voting Leave in the USA – Which States Require Paid Voting Leave?

Election day, and the lead-up to election day, can be a stressful time in the workplace. For team leaders or HR professionals, care needs to be taken as to how to address this topic, as many employees feel strongly about playing their part in the democratic process.

One topic that you’ll need to think about is voting leave – providing employees time off from work in order to hit the polls and vote.

In some states, this is an essential right entitled to employees. Read on and we’ll explain which states these are, any other rules regarding voting leave, and finally share some thoughts on navigating this time in your business.

Read More: check out each state’s PTO Payout Laws to learn what happens to unused PTO.

Which States Have Mandatory Voting Leave for Employees?

While federal law doesn’t require employers to give their employees time off to vote, some states do.

The majority provide paid time off for voting, which is usually around 2-3 hours on election day. And in most cases, if the employee has sufficient time with which to vote outside of working hours, they are not entitled to take time off work to vote.

The following states have no explicit voting leave laws:

• Arkansas
• Delaware
• Florida
• Hawaii
• Idaho
• Indiana
• Louisiana
• Maine
• Michigan
• Mississippi
• Montana
• New Hampshire
• New Jersey
• North Carolina
• North Dakota
• Oregon
• Pennsylvania
• Rhode Island
• South Carolina
• Vermont
• Virginia
• Washington

The following states have laws entitling employees to voting leave:

Paid

• Alaska
• Arizona
• California
• Colorado
• District of Columbia
• Illinois
• Iowa
• Kansas
• Maryland
• Minnesota
• Missouri
• Nebraska
• Nevada
• New Mexico
• New York
• Oklahoma
• South Dakota
• Tennessee
• Texas
• Utah
• West Virginia
• Wyoming

Unpaid

• Alabama
• Connecticut
• Georgia
• Kentucky
• Massachusetts
• Ohio
• Wisconsin

Voting Leave Laws: State by State

Below, we’ve listed each US state, and what each state’s law says regarding voting leave; if employees are entitled to take time off work to vote, and whether or not they are entitled to be paid for this time off.

We’ve also included any important details you should know about voting leave laws in each state, such as how long employees are allowed to take off, and any other conditions.

Please note: we’ve strived to ensure the data below is accurate, but we are not legal professionals. For complete legal advice, seek out one of these professionals.

Alabama

Voting leave required by law? Yes
Paid? No

• Employees are entitled to up to one hour off work to vote.
• Employees are not entitled to voting leave if their shift begins at least two hours after polls open, or at least one hour before polls close.
• Voting leave is not required to be paid.
• Employers may specify the hours that the employee is allowed to take off.

Alaska

Voting leave required by law? Yes
Paid? Yes

• Employees must be allowed enough time off work as they need with which to vote.
• This time off must be paid.
• There is no stipulation regarding specific number of hours entitled for voting leave.
• Employees are not entitled to voting leave if they have two consecutive hours before or after their shift while polls are open.

Arizona

Voting leave required by law? Yes
Paid? Yes

• Employees are entitled to up to three consecutive hours of paid leave at the beginning or end of their shift with which to vote.
• If the employee has at least three consecutive hours before or after their shift while polls are still open, they are not entitled to voting leave.
• If the employee has less than three hours before or after their shift while polls are open, this time is deducted from the three hours they are entitled to for voting leave.
• The employee must apply for this time prior to election day, and the employer is allowed to choose the hours the employee is allowed to take off.

Arkansas

Voting leave required by law? Sort of
Paid? No

• Arkansas doesn’t entitle employees to voting leave, but does require employers to schedule working hours to allow employees to vote.

California

Voting leave required by law? Yes
Paid? Yes

• Employers must allow employees enough time off with which to vote, either at the beginning or end of their shift.
• Employees are not entitled to voting leave if they have enough time outside of work hours with which to vote.
• Up to two hours of voting leave must be paid; the rest is unpaid.
• Employees must provide at least two working days notice prior to election day.

Colorado

Voting leave required by law? Yes
Paid? Yes

• Employees must provide up to two hours of voting leave while polls are open.
• Up to two hours must be paid (i.e. if the employer chooses to give three hours of voting leave, they are only legally required to pay for two).
• The employer can specify when the employee is allowed to take leave (but the employee must be allowed to do so at the beginning or end of their shift).
• Employees must request leave prior to election day.
• If the employee has three or more hours before or after their working hours while polls are open, they are not entitled to voting leave.

Connecticut

Voting leave required by law? Yes
Paid? No

• Employees are entitled to up to two hours of unpaid time off with which to vote.
• The employee must request this time off at least two days in advance.

Delaware

Voting leave required by law? No

• There is no law requiring voting leave in Delaware, but the law does prohibit a person or company from “hindering, controlling, coercing, or intimidating a voter regarding the individual’s right to vote”.

District of Columbia

Voting leave required by law? Yes
Paid? Yes

• Employers must allow at least two hours of paid time off with which to vote.
• The employee must request voting leave in advance.

Florida

Voting leave required by law? No

• There is no voting leave law in Florida, but employers are prohibited from firing or threatening to fire an employee for voting or not voting.

Georgia

Voting leave required by law? Yes
Paid? No

• Employers must provide employees with necessary time off with which to vote, up to two hours.
• If the employee’s work hours begin at least two hours after polls open, or end at least two hours before polls close, they are not entitled to time off.
• The employer can specify the hours that the employee is allowed to take off.
• The employee must give reasonable notice of their intention to take time off.

Hawaii

Voting leave required by law? No

• There is no requirement for voting leave in Hawaii, though they are one of several states that automatically mails ballots to all registered voters.

Idaho

Voting leave required by law? No

• Idaho has no requirement to provide voting leave.

Illinois

Voting leave required by law? Yes
Paid? Yes

• Employees are entitled to up to two hours of paid time off for voting.
• The employee must request this time off prior to the election date.
• Employers can specify the hours for the employee’s time off.
• The employee is not entitled to leave if their work hours start more than two hours after polls open, or end more than two hours before polls close.

Indiana

Voting leave required by law? No

• Indiana has no requirement to provide voting leave.

Iowa

Voting leave required by law? Yes
Paid? Yes

• Employees are entitled to paid time off so that they have at least three consecutive hours with which to vote (including the employee’s non-working time – i.e. before or after their shift starts).
• The employer may specify the hours to be taken off.
• Employees must apply for time off prior to election day.

Kansas

Voting leave required by law? Yes
Paid? Yes

• Employees may take up to two hours of paid time off for voting, if they don’t have sufficient time outside of working hours with which to vote.
• The employer may specify the times the employee is allowed to take off (though time off cannot include their regular lunch period).

Kentucky

Voting leave required by law? Yes
Paid? No

• Employees must be allowed a reasonable amount of time off with which to vote, which should be not less than four hours between opening and closing of the polls.
• Time off for voting is not required to be paid.
• Employers may specify the hours for employees’ voting leave.
• The employee must apply for leave prior to election day.

Louisiana

Voting leave required by law? No

• Louisiana has no requirement to provide voting leave.

Maine

Voting leave required by law? No

• Maine has no requirement to provide voting leave.

Maryland

Voting leave required by law? Yes
Paid? Yes

• Employees are entitled to up to two hours of paid time off for voting, unless they have two continuous hours outside of working time with which to vote.
• Employees taking voting leave must provide proof to their employer that they voted or attempted to vote.

Massachusetts

Voting leave required by law? Sort of
Paid? No

• Only employees of manufacturing, mechanical, or mercantile establishments are entitled to time off with which to vote.
• These employees are entitled to apply for unpaid leave for the first two hours after the polls open.

Michigan

Voting leave required by law? No

• Michigan has no requirement to provide voting leave.

Minnesota

Voting leave required by law? Yes
Paid? Yes

• Employees are entitled to take paid time off to vote, for as long as it takes them to go to a polling place, vote, and return to work.

Mississippi

Voting leave required by law? No

• Mississippi has no requirement to provide voting leave, but the law does state that employees should be allowed to take vacation time in order to vote.

Missouri

Voting leave required by law? Yes
Paid? Yes

• Employees are entitled to up to three hours of paid time off for voting, unless they have three successive hours outside of working time when the polls are open.
• The employer can specify the hours to be taken off.
• The employee must request leave prior to the day of the election.

Montana

Voting leave required by law? No

• Montana has no requirement to provide voting leave.

Nebraska

Voting leave required by law? Yes
Paid? Yes

• Employers must provide enough paid voting leave so that, when added to the employee’s nonworking hours, they will have at least two consecutive hours with which to vote while polls are open.
• If the employee has at least two hours outside of working time while the polls are open, they are not entitled to leave.
• The employee must apply for leave on or before election day for it to be paid.

Nevada

Voting leave required by law? Yes
Paid? Yes

• Employees are entitled to paid time off for voting, with the time depending on the distance between the workplace and the polling place:
  • 1 hour of voting leave if within 2 miles of the workplace.
  • 2 hours of voting leave if within 2-10 miles of the workplace.
  • 3 hours of voting leave if more than 10 miles from the workplace.
• The employer may specify the time the employee may take off.
• The employee must apply for leave prior to election day.

New Hampshire

Voting leave required by law? No

• New Hampshire has no requirement to provide voting leave.

New Jersey

Voting leave required by law? No

• New Jersey has no requirement to provide voting leave.

New Mexico

Voting leave required by law? Yes
Paid? Yes

• Employees are entitled to two hours of paid time off, unless their workday starts at least two hours after polls open, or ends at least two hours before polls close.
• The employer may specify the hours the employee is allowed to take off.

New York

Voting leave required by law? Yes
Paid? Yes

• Employees are entitled to up to two hours of paid time off for voting, which should be at the beginning or end of their scheduled working hours (unless otherwise agreed).
• Employees are not entitled to voting leave if they have “sufficient” time outside of working hours to vote, which is considered to be at least four consecutive hours before or after their working hours while polls are open.
• The employee should give 2-10 working days’ notice if they wish to take voting leave.

North Carolina

Voting leave required by law? No

• North Carolina has no requirement to provide voting leave.

North Dakota

Voting leave required by law? No

• North Dakota has no legal requirement to provide voting leave, but encourages employers to set up a program for taking time off with which to vote.

Ohio

Voting leave required by law? Yes
Paid? No

• Employees are entitled to a “reasonable” amount of time (no set number of hours is given) with which to vote.
• Voting leave is not required to be paid.

Oklahoma

Voting leave required by law? Yes
Paid? Yes

• Employees are entitled to two hours of paid time off while the polls are open with which to vote, increased if the employee needs more time due to distance from the polling place.
• The employer may specify the hours for the leave.
• If the employee has at least three hours before or after their shift while polls are still open, they are not entitled to voting leave.
• The employee must notify their employer prior to the election day of their intention to take voting leave.

Oregon

Voting leave required by law? No

• Oregon has no requirement to provide voting leave.

Pennsylvania

Voting leave required by law? No

• Pennsylvania has no requirement to provide voting leave.

Rhode Island

Voting leave required by law? No

• Rhode Island has no requirement to provide voting leave.

South Carolina

Voting leave required by law? No

• South Carolina has no requirement to provide voting leave, but the law states that employees cannot be fired for exercising their political rights.

South Dakota

Voting leave required by law? Yes
Paid? Yes

• Employees are entitled to two consecutive hours of paid time off with which to vote, unless they have two consecutive hours outside of working hours while polls are open.
• The employer may specify the hours when voting leave can be taken.

Tennessee

Voting leave required by law? Yes
Paid? Yes

• Employees are entitled to up to three hours of paid time off for voting, unless they have at least three hours before or after working time while polls are still open.
• The employee should request voting leave before 12pm the day before election day.
• The employer can specify the hours when voting leave can be taken.

Texas

Voting leave required by law? Yes
Paid? Yes

• Employees must be allowed paid time off with which to vote (no specific number of hours is given).
• The employer does not have to provide voting leave if the employee has two consecutive hours before or after their working hours while polls are still open.

Utah

Voting leave required by law? Yes
Paid? Yes

• Employees are entitled to two hours of paid voting leave, unless they have three or more hours while polls are open outside of working hours.
• The employee must apply for leave prior to election day.
• Employers may specify the hours when voting leave can be taken (though the employee must be allowed to take leave at the beginning or end of their shift).

Vermont

Voting leave required by law? No

• Vermont has no requirement to provide voting leave.

Virginia

Voting leave required by law? No

• Virginia has no requirement to provide voting leave.

Washington

Voting leave required by law? No

• Washington has no requirement to provide voting leave.

West Virginia

Voting leave required by law? Yes
Paid? Yes

• Employees are entitled to up to three hours of paid time off with which to vote, unless the employee has three or more hours outside of working time while polls are still open, or if they fail to vote.
• The employee must make a request for voting leave at least three days in advance.

Wisconsin

Voting leave required by law? Yes
Paid? No

• Employees are entitled to up to three successive hours of unpaid time off for voting.
• The employer can designate a time for the absence.
• The employee must notify their employer prior to the date of the election.

Wyoming

Voting leave required by law? Yes
Paid? Yes

• Employees are entitled to one hour of paid time off with which to vote, unless they have three or more consecutive non-working hours while polls are open.
• The employer can specify the hours when voting leave can be taken (but these hours cannot be the employee’s meal hours).

Should You Allow Employees Time Off to Vote?

In many cases, you may be legally required to let employees take time off to vote. It’s a good idea to follow the law in regards to this.

But what about if you’re in a state where voting leave is not legally required?

Though the law doesn’t require you to grant time off, it’s generally beneficial to do so anyway.

As mentioned earlier, many people feel very strongly about the democratic process, and denying people the ability to play their part may build up many ill feelings.

This won’t be good for the employer-employee relationship moving forward, and may cause significant harm to your company culture.

Ask yourself if it’s worth damaging culture in order to save a few hours of working time.

Long-term, it’s best to be generous and flexible with your employees on this day, even if there’s no legal requirement to do so.

How to Track Voting Leave In Your Company

If you allow employees time off for voting, prepare for a deluge of voting leave requests, and some disruption and confusion if not managed correctly.

We don’t recommend you deny employees time off to vote because of this potential inconvenience – instead, find an easy way to keep track of all voting leave requests.

Flamingo is the best way to manage this. 

Flamingo lets employees request voting leave in just a couple of clicks. They can specify whether they will take their leave in the morning or afternoon with our half days feature, and you can set this leave type to auto-approve, if you don’t want to manually approve each request.

Our automated notifications will give you a heads up prior to election day of who will be late in or off early in order to vote

Managing voting leave is just one reason to use Flamingo – across the whole year, it saves you countless hours handling leave requests, calculating accruals, and keeping track of who is on leave.

Try Flamingo free to see how much time and effort it saves your team.