Mark Robinson Sues CNN Over Report on Alleged Porn Site Posts

 

As Election Day approaches, voters nationwide are not only deciding which candidate to support but also planning how to balance their work schedules with a trip to the polls.

The race remains tight, with Vice President Kamala Harris holding a narrow lead over former President Donald Trump nationally, according to most polling aggregators. Both candidates continue to vie for the critical few thousand votes that could determine the outcome in the seven key battleground states, ultimately securing the 270 electoral votes needed to win the White House.

In addition to the presidential race, all 435 seats in the U.S. House of Representatives and 33 in the Senate will be contested on November 5.

While the significance of this election is undeniable, and both sides of the political spectrum recognize the benefits of high voter turnout, there is no federal mandate that requires employers to grant employees time off to vote.

Consequently, individual states have the authority to designate Election Day as a public holiday, close government offices, and provide paid time off for public employees. However, laws surrounding Election Day leave vary widely across the country.

A report from the Movement Advancement Project (MAP) highlights these disparities, with a Newsweek map illustrating how each state approaches the issue. According to MAP, citing data from the United States Election Project, 37 percent of U.S. voters will need to cast their ballots outside of normal working hours unless they’ve already voted via absentee or mail-in ballots.

Nine states—Delaware, Indiana, Kentucky, Louisiana, Michigan, Montana, New Jersey, Rhode Island, and Virginia—declare Election Day a public holiday but don’t require employers to offer paid time off.

Seventeen states, accounting for 36 percent of the voting-eligible population, mandate paid time off for voting but do not observe Election Day as a public holiday.

Only five states—Hawaii, Illinois, Maryland, New York, and West Virginia—treat Election Day as a holiday and require employers to provide paid time off for voting.