Election Day is not a holiday in California. It isn’t on the state’s official holiday list, state offices and courts stay open, and private employers have no holiday-based duty to close or give you the day off. What the law does guarantee is paid time off to vote: under Elections Code Section 14000, workers who don’t have enough time outside their shift to reach the polls can take up to two hours of paid leave to cast a ballot.1California Legislative Information. California Elections Code 14000 – Privileges of Voters
Why Election Day Isn’t a California Holiday
California Government Code Section 6700 lists every recognized state holiday, including New Year’s Day, Martin Luther King Jr. Day, Juneteenth, Independence Day, Labor Day, Veterans Day, and Christmas. Election Day isn’t on that list.2California Legislative Information. California Code GOV – Holidays The California Department of Human Resources holiday schedule, which governs state employees, likewise omits it for 2026.3CalHR. State Holidays
Some confusion online traces back to Assembly Bill 1801. That bill added April 24, Genocide Remembrance Day, to the state holiday list. It did not add Election Day. Because the day carries no holiday status, there is no legal basis for state agencies to close or for private employers to give workers an automatic day off.
Your Right to Paid Time Off to Vote
Elections Code Section 14000 fills the gap. If your work schedule doesn’t leave you enough time outside your shift to vote in a statewide election, you can take time off from work without losing pay. The paid portion is capped at two hours. You can take longer if you need it, but your employer isn’t required to pay beyond those first two hours.1California Legislative Information. California Elections Code 14000 – Privileges of Voters
The right is conditional. It only applies when your schedule genuinely prevents you from getting to a polling place or ballot drop-off on your own time. If your shift ends with hours to spare before polls close, you likely don’t qualify. The statute also directs that the time off be taken at the beginning or end of your regular shift, whichever gives you the most voting time with the least work disruption, unless you and your employer agree otherwise.1California Legislative Information. California Elections Code 14000 – Privileges of Voters
This protection applies to both public and private sector workers. Your employer cannot dock the first two hours of pay or retaliate against you for using the leave.
How to Request Voting Leave
Give your employer notice. The California Secretary of State’s office advises telling your employer at least two working days before the election if you expect to need the time.4California Secretary of State. Time Off to Vote That gives them room to adjust the schedule.
Employers have their own obligation. Elections Code Section 14001 requires every employer to post a notice about voting leave rights at the workplace, in a visible spot, at least 10 days before any statewide election.5California Legislative Information. California Elections Code 14001 The Secretary of State publishes a sample notice in multiple languages that employers can print and display.6California Secretary of State. Time off to Vote Notices If you don’t see one before an election, that’s a sign to ask.
Vote by Mail Usually Removes the Problem
Most Californians don’t need voting leave at all. Every active registered voter in the state automatically receives a mail ballot before each election from their county elections office.7California Secretary of State. Vote By Mail You can fill it out at home and return it by mail, drop it in a ballot drop box, or hand it in at a vote center.
Deadlines depend on how you return it. Mailed ballots must be postmarked on or before Election Day and arrive at your county elections office within seven days. Ballots dropped off in person at a drop box or vote center must be in by the time polls close at 8:00 p.m. on Election Day.7California Secretary of State. Vote By Mail Voting days or weeks ahead avoids the schedule conflict entirely, and the paid leave law functions as a backstop for people whose only chance to vote falls inside their shift.
What’s Open on Election Day in California
Because the day isn’t a state holiday, most public services run on their normal schedule. State offices, DMV locations, and courts stay open. The U.S. Postal Service also delivers as usual; Election Day isn’t on its 2026 holiday calendar.8United States Postal Service. Holidays and Events Financial markets trade normally; the New York Stock Exchange’s 2026 calendar does not list Election Day.9NYSE. Holidays and Trading Hours
Schools are the one place where closures vary. When a campus is used as a polling place or vote center, California law gives the school three options: stay open with a designated voting area, use the day for staff training, or close to students.10California Department of Education. Schools as Voting Locations and Student Poll Workers Each district decides for itself, so check with your child’s school if you need to plan around it.
Federal employees in California follow the federal holiday calendar set by 5 U.S.C. § 6103, which also doesn’t include Election Day.11U.S. Office of Personnel Management. Federal Holidays They work a regular Tuesday, with the same state voting leave protections available to them as to any other California employee.