If your work schedule doesn’t leave you enough time to get to the polls, California gives you up to two hours of paid time off to vote in California in any statewide election. The right comes from Elections Code Section 14000, and it covers both private and public employees.1California Legislative Information. California Code ELEC – Section 14000
Who Qualifies
The test is whether your shift leaves you enough time to vote on your own. Polls are open from 7:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m., so a standard 9-to-5 schedule generally won’t qualify because you have time before or after work.2California Secretary of State. Time off to Vote Notices If your hours overlap enough with polling hours that you can’t reasonably reach a polling place, vote, and get back, you’re covered.1California Legislative Information. California Code ELEC – Section 14000
The law applies to statewide elections, which the Secretary of State defines as elections held throughout the state, including primaries and general elections.2California Secretary of State. Time off to Vote Notices Purely local races held outside a statewide cycle aren’t covered.
How Much Time You Get, and What Gets Paid
You can take as much time as you need to vote. Your employer only has to pay for up to two hours of it, and anything beyond that is unpaid.1California Legislative Information. California Code ELEC – Section 14000
The paid portion covers the working time you actually need on top of whatever free time you already have. If you have one hour free after your shift and need three hours total, you’re owed two paid hours. If your shift and polling hours line up so that you already have two hours free, you’re owed nothing.1California Legislative Information. California Code ELEC – Section 14000
When During Your Shift You Take It
The leave has to be taken at the beginning or end of your shift, whichever combination gives you the most time to vote while keeping your time away from work as short as possible. You and your employer can agree to a different arrangement if you both prefer one.1California Legislative Information. California Code ELEC – Section 14000
Notice You Owe Your Employer
You must give your employer at least two working days’ notice. The statute puts it this way: if, on the third working day before the election, you know or have reason to believe you’ll need leave, tell your employer then.1California Legislative Information. California Code ELEC – Section 14000
No particular format is required. Email, a written note, or a conversation with your supervisor all satisfy the requirement. If your schedule changes unexpectedly after that window and you didn’t have reason to know earlier that you’d need the leave, the advance-notice obligation wouldn’t have applied.
The Mail Ballot Question
Since 2021, California permanently sends a vote-by-mail ballot to every active registered voter before every election.3Office of Governor. Governor Newsom Signs Landmark Elections Legislation Making Vote by Mail Ballots Permanent You can complete and return that ballot by mail or at a drop box without going to a polling place at all.
Section 14000 was written before universal mail ballots and doesn’t spell out how the mail option factors into the “sufficient time outside working hours” analysis. An employer could argue that a mail ballot gives you plenty of time to vote without leave. The Secretary of State’s guidance says the intent of the law is “to provide an opportunity to vote to workers who would not be able to do so because of their jobs.”2California Secretary of State. Time off to Vote Notices If you prefer to vote in person on Election Day and your shift genuinely prevents it, the statute still protects you. If you don’t need to vote in person, using your mail ballot is the simplest way to avoid the question.
What Your Employer Must Post
Your employer has to post a notice of your voting leave rights at least 10 days before every statewide election, somewhere conspicuous like a break room or near a time clock.4California Legislative Information. California Code ELEC – Section 14001 The notice has to lay out the provisions of Section 14000: eligibility, the two-hour paid window, the shift-timing rule, and the advance-notice requirement. The Secretary of State publishes a sample notice employers can use.2California Secretary of State. Time off to Vote Notices
The 10-day window is designed to give you time to see the notice, check your schedule, and still provide the two working days’ notice you owe. A workplace that hasn’t posted the notice in time has violated the Elections Code on its own.
If Your Employer Denies Leave or Retaliates
California prohibits employers from interfering with your right to take voting leave. Under Elections Code Section 18503, an employer who violates the voting leave provisions faces a civil fine of up to $10,000 per election. The penalty applies per election rather than per employee.
Retaliation is also prohibited. Your employer cannot fire you, demote you, cut your hours, or take other adverse action because you took protected voting leave. If leave is denied or you’re punished for using it, you can file a complaint with the California Labor Commissioner or consult an employment attorney. Keep any written communications about your request.
No Federal Equivalent
There is no federal law requiring private employers to give employees time off to vote. Your paid voting leave right comes entirely from California state law. A “Time Off to Vote Act” was introduced in Congress in 2025 but remains in early stages.