Right to Vote on Election Day

By Sally Weldin, Senior Human Resource Specialist 
Published March 12, 2024

Illinois’ primary election day is March 19, 2024. Under Illinois law 10 ILCS 5/17-15, an employer must provide an employee with time off to vote for a period of two hours between the opening and closing of the polls on the day of a general or special election. The polls open at 6 a.m. and close at 7 p.m.

For any employee whose work hours begin less than two hours after the polls open and end less than two hours before polls close, the employer must provide two-hours of paid leave for the employee to vote during work hours.

Here’s an example. If an employee works from 7:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. on election day, the employer must provide paid time off to vote if the employee requests it. Under the law, the open hour on either end of the schedule is not enough time to vote. In this case, an employer cannot reduce an employee’s pay for time off to vote. 

An employer may require employees to provide notification before election day for time off to vote, may specify the hours employees may take, and may ask for proof that employees actually voted. The precinct should offer the employee a sticker as proof before exiting the polling place.

A sample voting policy is available for HR Source Members in our Forms & Sample Documents library at hrsource.org. Questions? Members may contact us through the HR Hotline Online or at 800-448-4584.