Bill would grant paid leave to vote in elections

Legislation unveiled in the House this week would require employers to grant their workers time off so they can vote in federal elections.

Rep. Matt Cartwright’s bill would institute at least two hours of paid leave for citizens to cast their votes. The Pennsylvania Democrat said that it would alleviate the problem for low-income people who don’t want to take any unpaid time to leave work and vote, which could take overan hour.

“We can no longer afford laws that push people out of the electorate. For the United States to be a true democracy, every eligible American must be able to cast a ballot without suffering a burdensome economic sacrifice,” Cartwright said in a statement.

{mosads}State laws vary on requiring employers to give workers paid time off to vote. Some states mandate that workers are allowed time to vote but don’t guarantee that their pay won’t be docked for it; others allot a specific amount of time to vote. A handful of states don’t have laws that ensure workers time to vote at all.

However, most states prohibit employers from firing or disciplining workers who take time off to vote.

So far the bill has 30 co-sponsors, all of whom are Democrats.