Kemp signs bill for time off during early voting and more election audits

Under a bill Gov. Brian Kemp signed into law on Wednesday, workers in the state of Georgia can now have the time needed to cast their votes in future elections. Workers can now take up to two hours off to cast a ballot during early voting.

The new law expands on an existing statute that guarantees two hours of unpaid voting time for workers on Election Day. Under current Georgia law, companies must work with their employees to give them up to two hours to vote on Election Day, unless the employee’s hours begin at least two hours after the polls open or end two hours before the polls close.

The new law strikes the scheduling language and extends the requirement to the 21 days of early voting as well.

Workers seeking time off will have to notify their employer in advance, and then the employer will decide on a time when workers can be absent.

When the bill was passed in the Senate in March, Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger was pleased as he said, “Now, Georgians will have more options to cast a ballot during advance voting and more confidence in the results. This bill is good for business, election officials and Georgia voters.”

In addition to time off to vote, the new law requires more frequent audits of election results.