Ohio Elections Poll Worker Leave
Ohio Elections Poll Worker Leave
Kent State University recognizes that there is a need for a pool of available individuals to serve as poll workers during an election. That is why the university has established guidelines on poll worker leave for eligible employees.
Under the guidelines from the Division of Human Resources, university employees who volunteer as poll workers can take advantage of a new category of paid leave during a general, primary, or special election in Ohio. Similar policies are already in practice at state-level agencies.
According to the guidelines, permanent part-time and full-time classified and unclassified employees can request “poll worker leave” from their supervisor, subject to the following conditions:
- The request must be at least 14 calendar days prior to the date of the election;
- The request must be in writing;
- The request must include the employee’s intent to serve as a poll worker and specify the county in which the employee intends to serve; and
- The request must be turned in to the employee’s immediate supervisor.
The decision to grant leave remains with the supervisor, subject to the “operational needs of the work unit.” Incomplete requests or requests with missing documentation will not be considered submitted until the error is corrected.
Employees are only eligible to receive paid leave for their time as a poll worker on an hour-for-hour basis, up to the maximum number of hours the employee was regularly scheduled to work on an election day. For example, an employee who usually works an 8-hour day, but works a 12-hour shift at the polls, is only eligible for 8 hours of leave. The complete provisions of the poll worker leave guidelines can be found by clicking here.
For questions regarding this new option, please contact Joe Vitale at 330-672-8318 or jvitale1@kent.edu.