States that require employers to grant employees time off to vote, 2020
From Ballotpedia
General information
In the 2020 election cycle, twenty-eight states required employers to grant employees time off to vote. Within these 28 states, policies varied as to whether that time off must be paid and how much notice must be given. The map and table below summarize time-off policies in each of the 50 states in 2020. To use the map, hover over a state to see additional information.[1]
| States that required employers to grant employees time off to vote, 2020 | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| State | Time off for voting | Exceptions | Paid v. unpaid | Advance notice requirement | Citation |
| Alabama | Yes (1 hour) | "[If] the hours of work of the employee commence at least two hours after the opening of the polls or end at least one hour prior to the closing of the polls, then the time off for voting as provided in this section shall not be available." | Unpaid | Yes ("reasonable notice") | Alabama Act 2006-545 |
| Alaska | Yes (not specified) | "An employee who has two consecutive hours in which to vote, either between the opening of the polls and the beginning of the employee's regular working shift, or between the end of that regular working shift and the close of the polls, is considered to have sufficient time outside of working hours within which to vote." | Paid | No | Alaska Stat. §15.56.100 |
| Arizona | Yes (3 hours) | Time off required only "if there are less than three consecutive hours between the opening of the polls and the beginning of his regular workshift or between the end of his regular workshift and the closing of the polls." | Paid | 1 day | Ariz. Rev. Stat. § 16-402 |
| Arkansas | Yes (not specified) | Unpaid | No | Ark. Code Ann. 7-1-102 | |
| California | Yes (2 hours) | Paid | 2 working days | Cal. Elec. Code § 14000 | |
| Colorado | Yes (2 hours) | "This section shall not apply to any person whose hours of employment on the day of the election are such that there are three or more hours between the time of opening and the time of closing of the polls during which the elector is not required to be on the job." | Paid | No | Colo. Rev. Stat. § 1-7-102 |
| Connecticut | No | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A |
| Delaware | No | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A |
| District of Columbia | No | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A |
| Florida | No | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A |
| Georgia | Yes (2 hours) | "[If] the hours of work of such employee commence at least two hours after the opening of the polls or end at least two hours prior to the closing of the polls, then the time off for voting as provided for in this Code section shall not be available." | Unpaid | Yes ("reasonable notice") | Ga. Code Ann. § 21-2-404 |
| Hawaii | No | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A |
| Idaho | No | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A |
| Illinois | Yes (2 hours) | "The employer may specify the hours during which said employee may absent himself as aforesaid, except that the employer must permit a 2-hour absence during working hours if the employee's working hours begin less than 2 hours after the opening of the polls and end less than 2 hours before the closing of the polls." | Paid | 1 day | 10 Ill. Comp. Stat. §§ 5/7-42; 5/17-15 |
| Indiana | No | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A |
| Iowa | Yes (3 hours) | Time off required only if the employee "does not have three consecutive hours in the period between the time of the opening and the time of the closing of the polls during which the person is not required to be present at work for an employer." | Paid | Yes (not specified) | Iowa Code § 49.109 |
| Kansas | Yes (2 hours) | Paid | No | Kan. Stat. Ann § 25-418 | |
| Kentucky | Yes (4 hours) | Unpaid | 1 day | Ky. Rev. Stat. Ann. § 118.035 | |
| Louisiana | No | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A |
| Maine | No | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A |
| Maryland | Yes (2 hours) | Time off required only if the employee "does not have 2 hours of continuous off-duty during the time that the polls are open." | Paid | No | Md. Code 1957 Art. 33 § 10-315 |
| Massachusetts | Yes (2 hours) | Limited to "the period of two hours after the opening of polls." | Unpaid | Yes (not specified) | Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 149, §178 |
| Michigan | No | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A |
| Minnesota | Yes (not specified) | Paid | No | Minn Stat. Ann. § 204C.04 | |
| Mississippi | No | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A |
| Missouri | Yes (3 hours) | "This section shall not apply to a voter on the day of election if there are three successive hours while the polls are open in which he is not in the service of his employer." | Paid | Yes (not specified) | Mo. Rev. Stat § 115.639 |
| Montana | No | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A |
| Nebraska | Yes (2 hours) | Time off required only if the employee "does not have two consecutive hours in the period between the time of the opening and closing of the polls during which he or she is not required to be present at work for an employer." | Paid | Yes (not specified) | Neb. Rev. Stat. § 32-922 |
| Nevada | Yes (up to 3 hours; contingent on distance from polling place) | Time off required "if it is impracticable for the voter to vote before or after his or her hours of employment." | Paid | Yes (not specified) | Nev. Rev. Stat. Ann § 293.463 |
| New Hampshire | No | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A |
| New Jersey | No | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A |
| New Mexico | Yes (2 hours) | Time off does "not apply to an employee whose work day begins more than two hours subsequent to the time of opening the polls, or ends more than three hours prior to the time of closing the polls." | Paid | No | N.M. Stat. Ann. § 1-12-42 |
| New York | Yes (2 hours) | "If an employee has four consecutive hours either between the opening of the polls and the beginning of his or her working shift, or between the end of his or her working shift and the closing of the polls, he or she shall be deemed to have sufficient time outside his or her working hours within which to vote." | Paid | 2 working days | N.Y. Elec. Law § 3-110 |
| North Carolina | No | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A |
| North Dakota | No | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A |
| Ohio | Yes (not specified) | Not specified | No | Ohio Rev. Code Ann. § 3599.06 | |
| Oklahoma | Yes (2 hours) | "This section shall not apply to an employee whose work day begins three (3) hours or more subsequent to the time of opening of the polls, or ends three (3) hours or more prior to the time of closing the polls." | Paid | 3 days | Okla. Stat. Ann. 26-7-101 |
| Oregon | No | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A |
| Pennsylvania | No | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A |
| Rhode Island | No | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A |
| South Carolina | No | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A |
| South Dakota | Yes (2 hours) | Time off required only if the voter "does not have a period of two consecutive hours during the time the polls are open during which he is not required to be present at his work or place of employment." | Paid | No | S.D. Codified Laws Ann. § 12-3-5 |
| Tennessee | Yes (3 hours) | If an employee's work shift "begins three (3) or more hours after the opening of the polls or ends three (3) or more hours before the closing of the polls of the county where the employee is a resident, the employee may not take time off under this section." | Paid | 1 day | Tenn. Code Ann. § 2-1-106 |
| Texas | Yes (not specified) | "It is an exception to the application of this section that the person's conduct occurs in connection with an election in which the polls are open on election day for voting for two consecutive hours outside of the voter's working hours." | Paid | No | Tex. Elec. Code Ann. § 276.004 |
| Utah | Yes (2 hours) | "This section does not apply to an employee who has three or more hours between the time polls open and close during which the employee is not employed on the job." | Paid | Yes (not specified) | Utah Code Ann. § 20A-3-103 |
| Vermont | No | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A |
| Virginia | No | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A |
| Washington | No | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A |
| West Virginia | Yes (3 hours) | "[Any] employee, who has three or more hours of his own time away from his work or place of employment at any time between the hours of the opening and the closing of the polls on election day and who fails or neglects to vote or elects not to vote during such free time away from his work or employment, may be subject to wage or salary deductions for the time actually absent from his work or employment for voting in such election." | Paid | 3 days | W. Va. Code § 3-1-42 |
| Wisconsin | Yes (3 hours) | Unpaid | Yes (not specified) | Wis. Stat. Ann. § 6.76 | |
| Wyoming | Yes (1 hour) | "This section shall not apply to an employee who has three (3) or more consecutive nonworking hours during the time the polls are open." | Paid | No | Wyo. Stat. § 22-2-111 |
More on voting on November 3
Voting requirements and deadlines
General information
- Voter ID requirements
- State election websites
- Early voting dates
- Voter registration requirements
- Voter registration deadlines
- Same-day registration
- States that require employers to grant employees time off to vote
- Election results certification dates
Absentee/mail-in voting
- Absentee/mail-in voting overview
- Eligibility
- Request deadlines
- Request requirements
- Return deadlines
- Signature and witness requirements
- When can states begin processing and counting ballots
elections information:
COVID-19 and elections
- Changes to election dates, procedures, and administration in response to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, 2020
- Changes to absentee/mail-in voting procedures in response to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, 2020
Ballotpedia's 2020 election coverage
Footnotes
- ↑ This information was compiled by Ballotpedia staffers; specific sources include state statutes, election administration manuals, election calendars, and email inquiries. Sources are noted in the table.
| |||||||||||||||||||||||
