Soon, I will be reintroducing legislation to allow employees up to 2 successive hours of time off to vote on an election day in the Commonwealth. Employers must be notified in advance and the individual must be registered to vote. I invite you to join me as a co-sponsor.

Employees in Pennsylvania have protections against retaliation - such as threats or termination - for voting, not voting, or for the selection of their vote under current state law. However, there is no requirement to provide leave to employees during a workday that falls on an election day.

Long voting lines on election days are common in both urban and suburban communities. As registered voters schedule their voting time within their workday, they factor in commutes, public transportation schedules and other unforeseen delays such as a broken voting machine at their location.

There are currently 29 states with laws allowing some form of employee time off to vote on election days. Please consider lending your support as a co-sponsor of this proposal. This legislation was introduced as SB 470 in the 2023-24 legislative session. Co-sponsors included: FONTANA, HAYWOOD, KANE, KEARNEY, STREET, COMITTA, CAPPELLETTI, and SANTARSIERO. 

Please join me in supporting this important initiative.

Statutes/Laws affected:
Printer's No. 0373: P.L.1333, No.320