Workload & wellbeing
Make time to go vote
A calendar block and a heads-up so voting survives a busy Tuesday
Pick when you'll vote, block it on your calendar now, and send your manager a short note saying when you'll be out and what's covered.
Why this can work
People who have decided when and where they'll vote tend to follow through, and people who leave it to the day often don't. With no plan, work tends to win, and a schedule conflict is among the most common reasons registered voters give for not voting. A calendar block and one sentence to your manager usually settle it weeks early.
How to make time to vote, in five steps (about 10 minutes)
You’ll come away with a blocked slot to vote and a manager who knows.
We’ll send you a calendar invite.
- Decide when and how you'll vote.
Early, by mail, or on election day. Pick the day, the time, and where you'll be coming from. Check your registration while you're at it.
- Look up what your state allows.
Over half of states require time off to vote, often paid; some want a day or two of notice. Search your state plus voting leave.
Tip: Your state's election site has polling hours, early voting dates and registration deadlines, which decide the rest.
- Put it on your calendar now.
Block the voting time plus travel and a possible line. Mark it busy and name it so you don't book over it yourself.
Tip: Weeks ahead is the point. A slot that's already there when meetings get scheduled tends to survive them.
- Tell your manager, and anyone who'd notice.
Say when you'll be out, that it's to vote, and what's covered. Ask if the timing works for the team.
To: your managerQuick heads-up: I'm planning to vote on Tuesday the 3rd, and I've blocked 9 to 10:30 that morning in case there's a line.
It only touches the 9:30 standup, and I'll post my update in the channel beforehand. Does that timing work for the team, or would later in the day be easier on everyone?
Swap the highlighted parts for your thing. Works on Slack, in email, or said out loud. - Go, and keep the slot.
If work flares up, the note already covers it. Afterwards, thank whoever covered.
Tip: If you're in line when the polls close, you can usually still vote. Stay in it.
Good times to repeat it: before every election daywhen early voting opens where you livefor a local election you'd normally skip
We’ll send you a calendar invite.
Keep going with Truest
Small actions add up. Truest helps you find the next thing worth doing, make the space to do it, and keep a record of your progress. It’s a private place to work on your career, and it’s yours, not your employer’s.
- It actually happensWe’ll put it on your calendar and remind you before it starts.
- You know what’s nextTruest suggests the next small thing to try, based on what you’re working on.
- It’s yours to keepEach thing you do is saved to your private record, there when your next review or job search comes around.
Making it work for you
Every workplace is different. Here’s what to think about before you start, and what might get in the way.
Things to think about
Saying it's to vote is fine, and in many workplaces it's welcomed, but the line they'll act on is the one about who's on the client call while you're out. Put that line first.
What might make this harder
Ask as soon as the schedule is posted, in writing, and look up your state's rule first. Many states require employers to allow time to vote, some only when your shift leaves too few hours while polls are open, and several want notice a day or two ahead.
Questions people ask
Do employers have to give you time off to vote?
It depends on your state. More than half of US states require some time off to vote, and in many of those it's paid, though several only apply when your working hours leave too little time while polls are open. There's no federal requirement, so check your state's rule.
How do I ask my boss for time off to vote?
Tell them early, in writing, with the time you've blocked and what's covered while you're out, and ask whether the timing works for the team. In our experience, managers tend to mind the surprise more than the hour.
How far in advance should I tell my employer I need time to vote?
As soon as you've picked your slot, ideally a few weeks out. Some states require notice a day or two before election day for the leave to apply, and earlier notice makes it easier for your team to cover.
Is election day a federal holiday?
No. Election Day isn't a federal holiday in the US, and most people work a normal day, which is why planning the time matters. Some employers close or give paid time to vote, and some states require time off.
Why this works, and where it comes from
The idea comes from research on plan-making. In a large field experiment during the 2008 US presidential election, David Nickerson and Todd Rogers found that asking people when they would vote, where they'd be coming from and what they'd be doing beforehand raised turnout, while a standard encouragement to vote did not. The effect showed up among people who were the only eligible voter in their household, the ones with nobody at home to go with. Psychologists call this an implementation intention: a specific when-and-where attached to something you already mean to do. The difference seems to be between wanting to vote and having decided when.
In practice, the hard part is rarely your manager. In many workplaces an hour to vote is a non-event; what tends to bother a manager is finding out at 9:05 that you're gone and the client call has nobody on it. That's why the note goes out early and leads with what's covered. The law can help here too. More than half of US states require employers to give time off to vote, in many cases paid, and some of those require you to ask a day or two in advance, so an early note can be what makes the paid version available at all. Treat it the way you'd treat a dentist appointment: something you tell people about with enough notice that the team can plan around it.
Two things tend to go wrong. The first is booking too little: people block thirty minutes, the line is forty-five, and they leave. Block the whole window, travel included, and put it where leaving late costs the team the least, often first thing or straight after lunch. The second is leaving it until election week, when the calendar is already full and the slot has to be fought for. The Census Bureau asks registered non-voters why they didn't vote after every federal election, and being too busy or having a conflicting work or school schedule is regularly the most common answer. A block placed three weeks out tends to hold because nothing was there first.
If you work shifts, hourly, or somewhere you can't just step out, the method is the same but the ask is real, and it's worth knowing your state's rule before the conversation, since some states only require the time when your shift leaves too few hours while polls are open. If early or mail voting is available where you live and suits you, that often removes the work question entirely; the calendar block then just holds the errand. And if you aren't registered, the first step comes before all of this. Registration deadlines in many states fall weeks before election day, and a few minutes on your state's election site now tends to save the whole plan later.
What to do next
Other simple things to consider
More in Workload & wellbeing
See allRead this alongside your role page
Anything else we can help you with this week?
Tell Truest what you’re dealing with
We read every one, and we write guides for the things that come up most. Leave your email if you’d like to hear when we do.
Written by Truest, based on Do You Have a Voting Plan? Implementation Intentions, Voter Turnout, and Organic Plan Making (David W. Nickerson and Todd Rogers, Psychological Science, 2010). Last updated October 7, 2026. We sell a career membership; where that’s relevant above, we say so.