Election Day is Tuesday, Nov. 3. For a lot of working people, that’s also just Tuesday — alarm, commute, shift, home.
That’s because Election Day isn’t a federal holiday. Check the government’s 2026 federal holiday schedule: Columbus Day made the cut. Veterans Day made the cut. The day we pick our representatives didn’t.
And there’s no federal law requiring private employers to give you voting leave, either, according to employment law firm Jackson Lewis. So whether your boss has to let you go vote — and whether you get paid for it — comes down to one thing: the state you work in.
Jackson Lewis and fellow employment firm Ogletree Deakins both put the number at 28 states, plus Washington, D.C. I went through the statutes myself, state by state, and landed in the same place, with one asterisk I’ll get to. Here’s where you stand.
Where your boss has to give you time and keep paying you
In these 21 states and Washington, D.C., the law requires paid time or bars your employer from docking your wages for the absence. Some attach strings, which I’ll cover below.
- Alaska: Enough time to vote, paid, unless you already have two straight off-duty hours while polls are open.
- Arizona: Up to three hours, no pay deduction. Ask before Election Day.
- California: Up to two hours paid. Give two working days’ notice.
- Colorado: Up to two paid hours, and since June 1, 2026, on any day polling centers are open, not just Election Day, according to Ogletree.
- Hawaii: Up to two hours, no pay cut — but your boss can dock you if you didn’t actually vote.
- Illinois: Two hours, no cut in pay. Ask before Election Day.
- Iowa: Enough time to give you two straight hours to vote. Ask in writing, in advance.
- Kansas: Up to two hours, no deduction. Your boss can’t make it your lunch break.
- Maryland: Up to two paid hours, with proof you voted or tried to.
- Minnesota: Whatever time you need, no deduction — and it covers early in-person voting, too.
- Missouri: Three hours, but the protection applies only if you vote.
- Nebraska: Enough time to total two straight hours, no deduction.
- Nevada: Paid, scaled to distance: one hour if your polling place is 2 miles away or less, two hours up to 10 miles, three hours beyond that.
- New York: Up to two paid hours, unless you have four straight off-duty hours while polls are open.
- Oklahoma: Two hours on Election Day or during early voting, with no loss of pay once you show proof you voted.
- South Dakota: Two straight hours, no deduction.
- Tennessee: Up to three hours, no pay cut. Ask by noon the day before.
- Texas: Your boss can’t refuse you time to vote on Election Day or during early voting, or cut your wages for it, unless you have two straight off-duty hours while polls are open.
- Utah: Up to two hours, no deduction. Ask before Election Day.
- Washington, D.C.: At least two paid hours. Your boss can pick the time, including during early voting.
- West Virginia: Up to three hours, no deduction. Ask in writing at least three days ahead.
- Wyoming: One hour, paid only if you actually cast a ballot.
What’s that worth? At $30 an hour, two paid hours is $60 — a tank of gas or a decent dinner out. Not life-changing, but it’s your money, and here the law says it stays in your paycheck.
Where you get the time, but maybe not the paycheck
These seven states require employers to give you time to vote or protect you for taking it, but the law either allows unpaid leave or doesn’t say a word about pay.
- Alabama: Up to one hour, with reasonable notice.
- Arkansas: Employers must schedule Election Day shifts so every worker has a chance to vote.
- Georgia: Up to two hours on Election Day or an early in-person voting day, with reasonable notice.
- Kentucky: At least four hours. The statute doesn’t require pay, and Jackson Lewis lists it as unpaid. Take the time and skip voting, and you can be disciplined.
- New Mexico: Two hours with no “penalty.” The law doesn’t spell out pay, and legal guides read it differently.
- Ohio: Your boss can’t fire you, or threaten to, for taking reasonable time off to vote on Election Day. The statute doesn’t mention pay.
- Wisconsin: Up to three straight hours, but your employer can deduct the time.
Now the asterisk. Massachusetts has a narrow law covering only workers in factories, mechanical shops and retail stores. They can ask for the first two hours after polls open. Everybody else in the state is out of luck, which is why I don’t count it among the 28.
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Where you’re on your own, including Florida
These 21 states have no law requiring employers to give you time off to vote:
- Connecticut (a temporary requirement expired in 2024)
- Delaware
- Florida
- Idaho
- Indiana
- Louisiana
- Maine
- Michigan
- Mississippi
- Montana
- New Hampshire
- New Jersey
- North Carolina
- North Dakota (the state “encourages” employers to give time off but doesn’t require it)
- Oregon
- Pennsylvania
- Rhode Island
- South Carolina
- Vermont
- Virginia
- Washington
If you’re in Florida, don’t confuse no time off with no protection. Under Florida law, firing a worker — or threatening to — over casting a ballot or skipping one is a third-degree felony.
Your boss doesn’t have to give you the hour. But your boss can’t fire you, or threaten to, over how — or whether — you voted.
6 catches buried in the fine print
Even in the friendliest states, there are conditions. Miss one and you can lose the time, the pay or both.
- You have to ask first. Many states require notice before Election Day — in writing in Iowa, two working days ahead in California, three days ahead in West Virginia, by noon the day before in Tennessee. Showing up Tuesday morning and announcing you’re leaving won’t cut it.
- Your boss picks the hours. In many states, including Alabama, Arizona, Kansas and Wisconsin, the employer decides when you go. Utah and Colorado are exceptions: Ask for the start or end of your shift, and your employer has to grant it.
- The “you had time anyway” exception. Most laws apply only if your shift eats into polling hours. In New York, four straight off-duty hours while polls are open means no leave. In Arizona, Missouri and Wyoming, the cutoff is three.
- Pay can hinge on actually voting. Missouri and Wyoming protect your pay only if you vote. Hawaii lets employers dock you if you didn’t. Maryland and Oklahoma require proof.
- Look for the poster. New York employers must post a notice at least 10 working days before every election. California requires a posting before statewide elections, too.
- Early voting may count. Colorado, Georgia, Minnesota, Oklahoma and Texas extend the right to early voting days, not just Tuesday.
If your state leaves you hanging
If you live in one of the 21 states with no requirement — or you simply can’t afford to lose the hours — don’t fight your schedule. Go around it.
Depending on where you live, you may be able to vote early in person or by mail. The rules, deadlines and ID requirements vary by state, and they change, so don’t trust what a co-worker told you two elections ago.
Start at vote.gov, pick your state, and it’ll point you to your state’s official election information.
It’s also worth simply asking. Your employer may offer voting time even if your state doesn’t require it, and you won’t know unless you check your handbook or talk to HR.
Social Security and caregiving are big issues for voters this year. And with inflation outrunning paychecks, nobody wants to give up two hours of pay to cast a ballot.
Whether you have to depends on a state line, not on you. Know your rule before Tuesday, give the notice your state requires, and you won’t have to choose between your paycheck and your vote.
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