On the eve of Election Day, many Americans might be looking at their calendars wondering when they can schedule in their vote. Depending on where you live, work might not be a real conflict of interest.
Despite being a day of national importance, there’s no federal law that requires a company to allow their employees to take time off to cast their ballots. Instead, that power lies in the hands of whatever state a voter lives in.
As it stands, 28 states and the District of Columbia outline the right for workers to take some time off during the election.
But there are wrinkles, of course. Six states don’t require bosses to pay workers for taking a short break to vote—they include Alabama, Arkansas, Georgia, Kentucky, Massachusetts, and Wisconsin, per CNBC. And the amount of paid time an employee is entitled to differs state by state.
This current cycle has been called one of closest elections in modern history by some, which might make for longer lines come the actual day. Voting sites from Chicago, Illinois to Long Island, New York warn of lengthy wait times for early voters.
Limited time off and high turnout force some U.S. residents between a rock and a hard place. Registered voters’ main reason for not voting in 2022 was a “too busy, conflicting work or school schedule,” according to Census data.
To avoid Election Day hassles, Americans are increasingly turning to early voting, and almost 75 million have already cast their ballots. But some advocates have called for more amid voter suppression efforts.
“Many other democracies make election day a holiday and they all have higher voter turnout than we do,” wrote fellows from left-leaning think tank Brookings in 2021, adding that voter suppression has risen in the form of closed polling sites in neighborhoods with more minority residents. That spells long lines and “inconvenience with a cost, especially for those paid hourly wages,” they added.
Indeed, a lack of guaranteed federal leave impacts certain workers disproportionately, as those with children (especially women) are less likely to vote than those without, according to Molly Weston Williamson for liberal think tank Center for American Progress.
“Workers of color, particularly women of color, are more likely to face unpredictable and challenging schedules, potentially compounding the growing racial voter turnout gap,” she wrote in a post last month.
States that require managers to give employees time off to vote include:
Alabama, Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Georgia, Illinois, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Maryland, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, Nevada, New Mexico, New York, Ohio, Oklahoma, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, West Virginia, Wisconsin and Wyoming.
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