Am I Required to Give an Employee Time Off to Work at a Polling Site or to Vote?

I received a time-off request from an employee who wants Election Day off to volunteer at a polling site. I’ve already finalized our schedule, and approving the request would mean moving things around. My state requires us to provide up to two hours off for employees who can’t vote outside working hours. Can I apply that same rule here, or do I have to give them the entire day?

Quick Answer: You can’t automatically apply your state’s voting leave law to someone working at a polling site. Some states have separate laws protecting employees who serve as election workers, and those laws may require you to provide considerably more time off.

For the current rules that apply to taking time off to vote during work hours, we have a state-by-state guide here

The Legal Side:

The first thing to find out is exactly what your employee will be doing. Are they volunteering to help with an election-related activity, or have they been officially appointed to serve as a poll worker or election judge? That distinction matters.

Some states require employers to provide protected time off for employees serving in these official roles. Depending on your state, the law may require you to provide the entire time they’re scheduled to serve, even if it means rearranging your practice’s schedule.

You’ll also need to check whether the employee qualifies, how much advance notice is required, and whether the leave must be paid. In some states, employers are prohibited from penalizing employees who take qualifying election-worker leave.

If no law protects the employee’s particular activity, you can evaluate the request under your normal time-off policy, just as you would any other scheduling request.

The Human Side:

We understand the frustration. You’ve already made the schedule, patients are booked, and now you’re being asked to rearrange things.

But before deciding what to do, ask the employee for a little more information. Find out whether they’re officially serving as an election worker, what hours they’re expected to work, and whether they have documentation confirming their assignment.

If the leave is legally protected, you’ll need to work around the absence.

If it isn’t, you have a management decision to make. You can certainly consider your staffing needs, but we’d encourage you to see whether there’s a workable solution before denying the request.

Perhaps another employee can cover part of the shift, or the employee can adjust their hours. And if accommodating the request simply isn’t practical, you can explain that too.

The point is that you don’t have to say yes to every request to be a good employer. But taking a few minutes to explore the options can make a real difference in how your employee receives your decision.

For more information, read our article on Employee Time Off to Vote on Election Day.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is election-worker leave the same as time off to vote?

No. States can have separate laws covering each, with different requirements for eligibility, notice, pay, and time off.

Do I have to pay an employee who takes time off to work at a polling site?

That depends on your state’s law. Some states require wage protection, while others allow unpaid leave.

Does any employee who volunteers at a polling site qualify for protected leave?

No. Some states protect employees serving in officially appointed election roles, not everyone participating in volunteer election activities.

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