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I didn’t know this was not already mandated by law. I wish I could say I’m surprised, but it seems to jive with the general theme of other US policies. To cont

I didn’t know this was not already mandated by law. I wish I could say I’m surprised, but it seems to jive with the general theme of other US policies. To contrast, in Canada: “By law, eligible electors must have three consecutive hours to cast their vote on election day. If your hours of work do not allow for three consecutive hours to vote, your employer must give you time off. Employers cannot impose a penalty or deduct pay from an employee who is taking time off to vote if required by the Canada Elections Act. An employee must be paid what he or she would have earned during the time allowed off for voting.” [Source] http://www.elections.ca/content.aspx?section=vot&dir=faq&document=faqvoting&lang=e#a9 http://www.elections.ca/content.aspx?section=vot&dir=faq&doc... Edit: happy to see similar laws do exist for some states!

_delirium 9y ago
Unfortunately the UK is the same as the US in this regard. Elections are always held on a Thursday, and employers aren't required to give time off to vote.
- bigbluedots 9y ago
  In Australia, voting is always on a weekend, and is compulsory. Also, there are sausages in bread for sale
  - _delirium 9y ago
    Well, no hot dogs at UK polling stations, but there are regular dogs. https://www.theguardian.com/politics/gallery/2017/jun/08/dogs-at-polling-stations-in-pictures https://www.theguardian.com/politics/gallery/2017/jun/08/dog...
  - inopinatus 9y ago
    I'm proud of my democracy sausage but remain unconvinced that criminalising nonparticipation advances the ideals and outcomes of a government by the people. There are downsides too, most obviously when some crude federal politician stretches the Overton window in an attempt to sway reluctant voters.
    - piva00 9y ago
      But is it criminalised? At least in Brazil voting is compulsory but a failure to vote only gives you a VERY meager fine (something less than US$ 1, even for Brazil that is cheap) and if you haven't sorted that out the only penalty is not allowing you to request a new passport. Then you have to pay the fine and go on your merry way again. It's mostly a deterrent by being annoying, paying the fine is a bit bureaucratic so people try to avoid it. Not that Brazil is a beacon of democracy and good leadership but at least it's pretty sensible on the penalties you get for non-participation.
- orf 9y ago
  That being said, we have a large voter turnout. Huge numbers of polling places (including schools), open before and after working hours. The situation doesn't seem to be as dire as in the USA, at least from my perspective
- jdietrich 9y ago
  In fairness, all our polling stations are open from 7am to 10pm and rarely have queues of more than a few minutes. Postal and proxy ballots are available to all voters at all elections. There are occasional cock-ups at urban polling stations, but it's rare that someone who wants to vote will be unable to do so. I'd love an extra bank holiday, but I don't think that it'd make any real difference to turnout.
fny 9y ago
Canada's voter turnout is only marginally better than the US though: 62% vs 56%. [0] Honestly, early voting for several weeks before and weekends seems adequate enough. Everyone voting on the same day is absurd. And there's definitely a huge cultural shift needed beyond convenience to get people to vote: the economic incentive just doesn't exist at almost any level of convenience, especially if you're apathetic to the system and don't believe your vote count (which statistically, it doesn't.) People need to see voting as a duty to validate the democracy and the government, and feel compelled enough by that narrative to take the time to vote in federal elections. [0]: http://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2017/05/15/u-s-voter-turnout-trails-most-developed-countries/ http://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2017/05/15/u-s-voter-tu...
- Zombieball 9y ago
  Regardless of whether or not paid time off is an incentive to vote, it seems crazy to not be part of the law. In my opinion paid time off to vote, regardless of which day you go (early voting, elections day, etc.) should be allowed. Period. I 100% agree on the cultural shift. I suppose Hollywood has been trying more recently to get people out to vote (at least I’ve noticed it more this past election).
dragonwriter 9y ago
The US has a different federal state distribution of authority than Canada, but most US states (and some localities) have some time off to vote rule. https://aflcio.org/2016/11/5/know-your-rights-state-laws-employee-time-vote https://aflcio.org/2016/11/5/know-your-rights-state-laws-emp...

_delirium 9y ago

Unfortunately the UK is the same as the US in this regard. Elections are always held on a Thursday, and employers aren't required to give time off to vote.

bigbluedots 9y ago
In Australia, voting is always on a weekend, and is compulsory. Also, there are sausages in bread for sale
- _delirium 9y ago
  Well, no hot dogs at UK polling stations, but there are regular dogs. https://www.theguardian.com/politics/gallery/2017/jun/08/dogs-at-polling-stations-in-pictures https://www.theguardian.com/politics/gallery/2017/jun/08/dog...
- inopinatus 9y ago
  I'm proud of my democracy sausage but remain unconvinced that criminalising nonparticipation advances the ideals and outcomes of a government by the people. There are downsides too, most obviously when some crude federal politician stretches the Overton window in an attempt to sway reluctant voters.
  - piva00 9y ago
    But is it criminalised? At least in Brazil voting is compulsory but a failure to vote only gives you a VERY meager fine (something less than US$ 1, even for Brazil that is cheap) and if you haven't sorted that out the only penalty is not allowing you to request a new passport. Then you have to pay the fine and go on your merry way again. It's mostly a deterrent by being annoying, paying the fine is a bit bureaucratic so people try to avoid it. Not that Brazil is a beacon of democracy and good leadership but at least it's pretty sensible on the penalties you get for non-participation.
orf 9y ago
That being said, we have a large voter turnout. Huge numbers of polling places (including schools), open before and after working hours. The situation doesn't seem to be as dire as in the USA, at least from my perspective
jdietrich 9y ago
In fairness, all our polling stations are open from 7am to 10pm and rarely have queues of more than a few minutes. Postal and proxy ballots are available to all voters at all elections. There are occasional cock-ups at urban polling stations, but it's rare that someone who wants to vote will be unable to do so. I'd love an extra bank holiday, but I don't think that it'd make any real difference to turnout.

fny 9y ago

Canada's voter turnout is only marginally better than the US though: 62% vs 56%. [0] Honestly, early voting for several weeks before and weekends seems adequate enough. Everyone voting on the same day is absurd. And there's definitely a huge cultural shift needed beyond convenience to get people to vote: the economic incentive just doesn't exist at almost any level of convenience, especially if you're apathetic to the system and don't believe your vote count (which statistically, it doesn't.) People need to see voting as a duty to validate the democracy and the government, and feel compelled enough by that narrative to take the time to vote in federal elections. [0]: http://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2017/05/15/u-s-voter-turnout-trails-most-developed-countries/ http://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2017/05/15/u-s-voter-tu...

Zombieball 9y ago
Regardless of whether or not paid time off is an incentive to vote, it seems crazy to not be part of the law. In my opinion paid time off to vote, regardless of which day you go (early voting, elections day, etc.) should be allowed. Period. I 100% agree on the cultural shift. I suppose Hollywood has been trying more recently to get people out to vote (at least I’ve noticed it more this past election).

dragonwriter 9y ago

The US has a different federal state distribution of authority than Canada, but most US states (and some localities) have some time off to vote rule. https://aflcio.org/2016/11/5/know-your-rights-state-laws-employee-time-vote https://aflcio.org/2016/11/5/know-your-rights-state-laws-emp...