By Samantha Eng
The Massachusetts House passed Bill H.4217, which protects employees’ right to paid time off in order to be able to vote. The bill is currently under consideration by the Senate Committee on Ways and Means. This bill would allow any employee to request paid time off on Election Day to exercise their right to vote in person with the condition that they give employers three business days’ notice.
The bill is among multiple efforts by the Massachusetts state government to increase voter participation. Existing Massachusetts legislation permitted only construction and manufacturing industry workers to request time off, but it wasn’t guaranteed to be paid time off.
One of the factors that affects the participation of voters, especially young voters, is a lack of time. According to a 2022 survey by CIRCLE, a research center based at Tisch College focused on youth civic engagement, 38% of young people who did not vote cited forgetting or being too busy as their main reason.
CIRCLE researcher Peter de Guzman commented on the value of giving young voters more time to vote.