Election Day is November 8th and it is anticipated that voter turnout will reach a record high. As a result, employers should prepare for an increase in the number of employees requesting time off to vote. Under what circumstances, if any, are Georgia employers required to grant this type of request? Read ahead to learn more.

In states where voting leave is required, state law dictates the conditions under which voting leave must be provided, if at all. The laws also set forth the amount of time that an employee must receive for this type of leave. As demonstrated below, depending on the state, the leave may be paid or unpaid.

In Georgia, while time-off to vote is unpaid, employees should be given the time necessary to vote, not to exceed two (2) hours. The employee must give a reasonable notice that they would like to take advantage of the time-off, and Georgia employers may schedule the hours in which each employee leaves the workplace to vote. Encouraging your employees to vote early is one way to minimize time taken off on November 8^th.

For more specific information regarding Georgia voting, please see this excerpt from our HR Strategies handbook:

HR Strategies and your worksite employer encourage employees to participate in the political process by voting in public elections. In general, an employee who wishes to vote is expected to do so before or after his/her scheduled shift. However, the Company understands that there may be times when your work schedule might not leave you enough time outside of your shift to vote. If, on the day of any municipal, county, state or federal political party primary or election in which you are qualified and registered to vote, the polls open less than two hours before the start of your shift and close less than two hours after the end of your shift, you will be permitted to take, as necessary, up to two hours off work to vote. To be granted time off to vote, you must provide reasonable advance notice to your supervisor. In order to provide you with sufficient time to vote while minimizing business disruption, your supervisor/manager will specify the particular hours you may take off work to vote.

If you are not located in Georgia, we have provided a list of each state’s voting leave information. Whether an employer is required to grant employee’s request for time off to vote depends on the laws in the state in which the employee works. The below table shows which states provide voting leave and which states do not.

No Voting Leave Provided	Unpaid Voting Leave	Paid Voting Leave
Connecticut	Alabama	Alaska
Delaware	Arkansas	Arizona
Florida	Georgia	California
Idaho	Kentucky	Colorado
Indiana	Massachusetts	Hawaii
Louisiana	Mississippi	Illinois
Maine	New Mexico	Iowa
Michigan	North Dakota	Kansas
Montana	Ohio	Maryland
New Hampshire	Wisconsin	Minnesota
New Jersey		Missouri
North Carolina		Nebraska
Oregon		Nevada
Pennsylvania		New York
Rhode Island		Oklahoma
South Carolina		South Dakota
Vermont		Tennessee
Virginia		Texas
Washington		Utah
Washington DC		West Virginia
		Wyoming
This article was prepared in conjunction with information provided by our Employment Practices Liability Insurance Provider.