With less than 30 days from Election Day on November 3rd, it’s time to start thinking about how you’re going to manage scheduling your employees so that they have the opportunity to participate in the election process.
Navigating the world of election season can be daunting for business owners. Determining voting leave, providing resources for employees, and even helping identify the closest poll location and voter registration resources. There’s a lot to think about.
Thankfully, there are ways to simplify the process and help ensure your staff have the tools they need to get to the polls. Read on for more information on how you can create a voting strategy that both empowers your employees to vote and also helps keep your scheduling on track to ensure coverage on Election day.
Determining voting leave
While a majority of states provide voting leave, it’s always best to double-check to confirm whether or not your state does indeed provide voting leave, and if so, the type of leave. For example, typically the amount of time off, and whether it is paid or unpaid leave, varies state-by-state.
A great first step is checking your state elections website. Each state has one. Simply search “[state name] elections website.”
If you’re looking for more consolidated information, Vote.org is a great resource for navigating voting leave and additional topics, like voting during COVID-19, how to request an absentee ballot, and how to vote by mail.
Voting early
Many states have changed their voting early timeframe to accommodate for COVID-19. The National Conference of State Legislatures (NCSL) has a comprehensive list of states that have early voting. Check your state’s voting time frame here.
By encouraging your team to vote early, you can reduce the amount of staff unable to work on Election Day.
Confirming registration
You may have employees inquiring about where they can register or confirm their registration to vote. Luckily, there are government and bi-partisan organizations that can confirm this, including:
Polling place locator
Polling places can be tricky to find. Luckily the team at Headcount.org have made it so simple to determine where you can vote in-person. Employees simply enter their residential or work locations to get a list of polling places nearby. Or, anyone can call the 1-800 lines if they prefer guidance over the phone.
By finding a polling place close to work, you can encourage your team to vote before or after a shift.
Creating voting leave with Deputy
Now that you have some tips for getting your employees to the polls, you need to make sure you schedule time off correctly. With Deputy, you can easily schedule voting time so both you and your team are aligned. Check out the informational video below which shows how you can create a new leave type for voting and assign it to employees, so that you have a clear view of who wants to vote when scheduling.
If you have any questions on the way, you can read our help guides on Leave Management or Setting up Paid Voting Leave or get in touch with our 24/7 support team and they’ll be happy to help.
