Question from a German: Can you leave your place of work to vote?

[gandalf]

As far as I know, the US presidential elections always take place on a Tuesday (we vote always on Sundays).

Are there sometimes problems to leave your place of work to vote? Assuming you work for a company like Wal-Mart (I think Barbara Ehrenreich wrote employees of Wal Mart must not drink water during work or engage in small talk), could you face negative consequences if you vote? Or are you supposed to vote somehow outside your working hours?

[trotsky]

1. Legally your employer must give you time off to vote.

I'm not sure, but I think they have the option of making that unpaid time off. Which is rather lame.

[gandalf]

3. Legally, ok, but in practice...

they could say "you may go, but it will not further your career..."?

[Tyler Durden]

7. What he said.

There are dozens of "rights" in this country that will get you squashed like a bug if you try to exercise them.

My employer actually tried to send me on a customer situation that would put me 100 miles from a polling place I could use and would keep me on the job until after 9pm: I developed a sudden "illness."

[2Design]

2. yes it is a problem....

if someone has a long commute...they would have to try to vote in the early morning or late nigth but polls close at 8pm...

it does make it hard for hourly employees who need the money, or others who are poor...probably hurts the poor the most..

having it on a weekend day would probably be better for getting people to actually vote...

[eyesroll]

4. It varies by state.

Most polls are open for way longer than most shifts
Here in WI, they're open from 7 a.m.-8p.m. (with a few precincts opening later). The vast majority of people who want to vote can do so outside of their working hours (I work from 7:30 - 4, usually, so I vote after work; I will be taking a day off on election day this year, though).

However, if you work a 12-hour shift, you're (technically, legally) entitled to time off to vote (they don't have to pay you for it in WI, but in some states they do).

Here's a guide:
http://www.cch.com/press/news/2002/20021009h.asp

[gandalf]

5. Thanks for your info! nt

[SteelMan71]

6. Vote in the morning

I vote as soon as the polls open and then go to work, but yes, my employer allows others to leave and vote.

[mememe]

8. not really a big problem in TN

In Tennessee we have "early voting" which means that one who wishes to vote can do so for several weeks before the actual election date. If one wishes to cast a ballot it is not all that difficult. I travel in my work and am often scheduled to be out of town on election days. Early voting is a simple, easy way to make sure my vote is cast.

I'm not sure how many other states have similar setups but all have some form of absentee ballot provisions for those who cannot be physically present at the polling place on election day.

[gandalf]

11. OK. And welcome to DU! nt

[MallRat]

9. Polls are typically open about 12-14 hours.

Most people vote before or after work.

Some have proposed making Election Day a holiday, to encourage people to vote. Others propose a 2-day election, a Tuesday-Wednesday, or even a Saturday-Sunday, so that people have every opportunity to get to the polls.

-MR

[welshTerrier2]

10. Absentee Ballots

if you know in advance that you'll be working during the entire period of time the polls are open, or if you just prefer to vote by mail for convenience, you can always obtain an absentee ballot and vote that way ...

there have been some proposals to extend the voting period to a few days or weeks ... there have been other proposals to vote on a weekend although many people have to work on weekends ... no progress has been made on these proposals ...

of course, while there are certainly some people who are affected by the problem you raised, there are far more people who don't vote at all ... and most of those who do vote are only familiar with the candidates from commercials they've seen on TV ...

without an educated, informed electorate, democracy cannot exist ... ours has become a bit of a joke, i'm afraid ...

[RossMcLochNess]

12. Absentee Ballots are the way to go...

Thats how I vote every election. Then I don't have to worry about work or waiting in line. It really is the easiest way to vote.

[ChickMagic]

13. A long time ago

I worked for the Dept. of Public Safety. A trooper was required to drive us to our polling place during work hours. I doubt they still do that, but it was pretty cool.

[GreenPartyVoter]

14. I think we should have a federal election holiday, among other things.

[Misunderestimator]

15. In the 2002 election... I waited in line for 2 hours behind an EMS

tech who had a 90 minute commute to her job, and had to take unpaid time off... It's an AWFUL system... I admired her for making such a sacrifice. In my job, yes, you can take off to go vote without any penalty.

[kayell]

16. Technically speaking yes, and voting usually goes on 12-14 hours, but...

practically speaking the difficulties of juggling an often exhausting job, transportation difficulties, childcare, etc, tend to discourage a fair number of lower income citizens from voting.

One day we may join the free world and have a national election holiday.

Added: Usually white-collar jobs will freely let you go to vote. Blue collar jobs often put up road-blocks.

[liberalitch]

17. Republican emplyers do all they can to keep their underlings from voting..

Democrat bosses allow/encourage voting.

re: walmart water thing... With a heat index of 110 F in this area.... that could be criminal.... who are they employees or detainees?