Voting Leave Requirements in Arkansas

At a glance

A scheduling duty, not a block of hours

Arkansas takes a different approach from states that grant a set number of paid or unpaid hours to vote. Section 7-1-102 places the duty on the employer to arrange schedules: "Each employer in the state shall schedule the work hours of employees on election days so that each employee will have an opportunity to exercise the right of franchise."

That means there is no fixed amount of leave to point to, no paid-time guarantee, and no outside-work-hours test that either side computes. The obligation is to build the election-day schedule so that a worker has a genuine opportunity to reach the polls — for example, by not scheduling a shift that runs from before the polls open until after they close with no chance to vote. How the employer meets that obligation is left to the employer, so long as an opportunity to vote exists.

Because the statute is silent on pay, notice, and posting, the chip table reads "N/A" in those columns. An employee who still cannot reach the polls around a shift may use early voting or an absentee ballot; those options exist independently of this scheduling duty.

What trips people up

The biggest misunderstanding is expecting a defined number of hours off, paid or unpaid. Arkansas does not provide one. The employee's protection is that the employer must schedule around the polls, not that the employee may claim two or three hours the way voters can in some neighboring states.

The duty is also framed as the employer's, enforced by a fine, rather than as a personal leave entitlement the employee schedules. If an employer schedules a shift that leaves no opportunity to vote and refuses to adjust it, the consequence runs to the employer: on conviction, a fine of $25 to $250.

Common questions

How many hours off to vote do I get in Arkansas?

There is no set number. The employer must schedule your election-day hours so you have an opportunity to vote, but the statute does not fix an amount of time.

Is voting time paid in Arkansas?

The statute does not require paid voting time. It requires the employer to arrange the work schedule so voting is possible; it says nothing about wages.

Do I have to give my employer advance notice?

The statute imposes no employee-notice requirement. Telling your employer early is still practical so the schedule can be arranged, but it is not a statutory condition.

What if my employer will not schedule around the polls?

An employer that fails or refuses to comply is, on conviction, subject to a fine of $25 to $250. Early voting or an absentee ballot is the practical fallback for reaching the polls.

Statutes and sources

• Ark. Code Ann. § 7-1-102 (enacted by Acts 1989, No. 545, § 1): employer duty to schedule election-day work hours so each employee can vote, and the $25-$250 fine for noncompliance — official enrolled act (accessed July 13, 2026).