Do you think this is a good idea?

Question

Do you think it is a good idea to implement a law that employers should allow employees to leave work to vote? The structure of the idea is fairly simple. The employer allows the person to go vote and they must bring proof they voted. The employer can, but not required to, then pay the employee for upto two hours of work and those two hours are a tax credit for the employer.

share your thoughts on this idea, either positive or negative, but please be respectful.

The idea is not as much about opportunity to vote as giving incentive to vote.

Answer 1

u certainly have a good point. im sure many more people would vote. a lot of people use it as an excuse not to, even though most polling facilities are open till 7-8pm. i believe we would definitely see an increase in voters if the country did take an action like this.
and like u said, its more incentive than opportunity. the opportunity has always been there (for most people) BUT not only would this provide incentive by making it feel as though were all uniting on one day no matter what to go vote - for the slack workers it would also be incentive because they'll get to lay out of work for two hours without having to make up an excuse. sad, but true.

its funny u asked this cause i actually just spent an hour or so discussing that with an enlighsman in a bar a few weeks ago :o)

Answer 2

MOST employers already offer this. EVERY state deliberately schedules the polls to be open early enough in the morning to late enough at night to ensure extremely few people will not have time to vote before or after work. Anyone that can't get to the polls because of work is eligible for an absentee ballot in ANY state.

In short, such a law would be redundant. It would provide LESS opportunity to vote than you already have.

Answer 3

People abuse ANYTHING. I used to work for a program that allowed us 2 hours off to go vote and half my co-employees used it to go home early or to sleep in late, not to vote.

People who really CARE about the election will find the time to vote whether or not they get paid for it.

Plus, keep in mind, there's people doing advance voting nowadays. It's really popular here. So if I exercise my right to vote early then I'm punished under your system because those other people, who didn't have foresight and advance planning, get to bounce out of the office election day while I'm stuck at the office?

No, don't like your idea.

Answer 4

I dont think this is necessary. I say this because most polling locations stay open until 7 or 8 in the evening. And if you cant make it during the normal hours you can always submit an absentee ballot.