Thirty states have laws giving workers the right to take time off to vote

[Oilwellian]

Four working mothers in Illinois recently sued to be allowed to vote by absentee ballot because the demands of work and family as well as limited transportation and child care options means that they will not have enough time to get to the polls on Election Day. Their story reflects the conflict between earning a living, raising a family and exercising the right to vote that millions of voters will face on November 2. The hard truth is that the voter time crunch suppresses more votes than hanging chads, malfunctioning voting equipment and dodgy election officials ever do.

According to the Census Bureau, the number one reason why registered voters did not vote in the last two presidential elections was because they could not get time off from work. That’s nearly 4 million registered voters who did not have time to vote in the 2000 election where the presidential race was decided by 537 votes. The time crunch especially keeps women, minority and low wage workers who have the most rigid work schedules and the least amount of control over their time from voting.

The good news is that while there are many things that could go wrong that is out of our control this Election Day, this is a problem that ordinary citizens can fix. Thirty states have laws giving workers the right to take time off to vote. For example, Illinois voters are entitled to two hours leave, Minnesota voters can take election morning off to vote, and Ohio voters cannot be fired or penalized for taking a reasonable amount of time off to vote. But to take time off to vote, many states require voters to notify their employers in advance. West Virginia requires three days notice in writing, California requires two days notice and voters in Illinois and Wisconsin must apply for leave at some point before Election Day.

Employers have a critical role to play in ensuring that time is neither a reason nor an excuse for low voter turnout. They should have systems in place to comply with state time off to vote laws and make sure that workers know about their right to take time off to vote. Employers in states without a time off to vote law or where the law does not provide meaningful support to most full time workers can create common sense flexible leave policies such as allowing people to take up to two hours paid leave at the beginning or end of the work day to vote or adapting their existing paid time off policy for voting. Forwarding-thinking employers such as the women’s retailer Eileen Fisher and the health services company Bronson Healthcare Group are going beyond the letter of the law to help workers exercise their right to vote. The former is giving workers a full day’s pay but opening their stores late and closing their offices early on Election Day and the latter is giving employees one extra hour of paid time off for voting.

http://www.timetovote.net/

[Confident]

1. all Blue states, I'll bet

[DuctapeFatwa]

2. Most give them 2 hours

Although lower-level workers frequently find that those who insist on taking it are terminated for unrelated reasons.

And it is of limited utility to other low-income workers for whom the trip from workplace to polling place is 2 hours or more one way using public transportation.

Long waits in lines to vote also help keep the laws from affecting profits even in the case of employees with higher level jobs and private automobiles.

Like "weekend excluded" early voting, it's a great way to make a symbolic gesture without upsetting the apple cart.