Voter turnout in the U.S. has been historically low compared to developed countries, and with everyone stuck at work on Election Day, it makes sense why voters don’t turn out.
The 2022 elections were among the highest turnouts for a midterm our country has seen in a century. Even still, the final turnout was only 52.2%. It was one of the best midterm elections in our lifetimes, and only half the country voted.
I understand that many people don’t want to vote or don’t feel like their voices are heard. The government can’t make people vote, and it should be your choice if you want to skip the polls.
Unfortunately, for a lot of people, it isn’t their choice — but rather, their employer’s choice. The government needs to put the choice in the hands of workers and let them take time off to vote.
A Pew Research Center poll from 2014 found that 35% of people who didn’t vote in the midterms that year didn’t vote because they had conflicts with school or work.
If that were true, that percentage would work out to nearly 45 million voters. We’ve taken some steps to address this, like early and mail-in voting, but more can be done.
Last year, CNBC reported that 29 states have already passed laws requiring employers to give time off on Election Day. Of those, only 23 have paid time off requirements.
Louisiana is a state that does not require employers to offer any time off to vote, meaning that the 3.5 million voting-eligible citizens are on their own when it comes to Election Day.
Texas, despite having a rocky history with voting rights, has election laws that benefit workers.
In Texas, all employers are required to offer employees paid time off to go vote, given that they don’t have two consecutive hours to vote outside of their shift.
Louisiana should follow Texas’ lead, but critically, the federal government needs to step in and ensure that workers are treated fairly across state lines.
This patchwork of states with different rules and regulations needs to end.
Voting rights must be protected in all states.
Last year, a bill called the Time Off to Vote Act was introduced and supported by House Democrats, but it hasn’t seen a single vote by committee or the House.
A great opportunity to change our system for the better is wasted as the bill dies in committee. With another election cycle quickly approaching, Congress needs to act now and pass this legislation.
This bill would give workers the opportunity to vote without fear of losing out financially.
So the next time you’re scheduled to work on Election Day, just remember — bad policy is a choice, and our government is choosing not to do anything about it.
