With the election pending, employees may ask their employers about taking time during the working day to vote. Most states require that employers grant at least unpaid time away from work to vote. However, North Carolina and South Carolina are among the minority of states with no statutory voting leave rights. Employees can be informed that they will need to vote outside of working hours, or take advantage of early voting or absentee ballots if their work schedule does not permit adequate time on election day.

Even without a legal mandate, many employers in the Carolinas make accommodations for employees seeking time away from work to vote. This could be in the form of flexible scheduling on election day, or use of paid or unpaid time-off during the working day for employees to vote.  Employers with employees in other states should check those states' laws with respect to voting leave in order to ensure compliance with excused absence requirements.