Arkansas: Voting Leave Requirements
The short answer
Arkansas does not grant employees a fixed block of time off to vote. Instead, it requires every employer to schedule the work hours of employees on election days so that each employee has an opportunity to vote. There is no set number of hours, no paid-time requirement, and no employee-notice or posting rule. An employer that fails or refuses to schedule work hours to allow voting is, on conviction, subject to a fine of $25 to $250.
Ask Ezel about your situation
This is the general rule in Arkansas. Ezel applies current Arkansas law to your specific facts and answers with citations to the statutes.
| Governing law | Ark. Code Ann. § 7-1-102 (Acts 1989, No. 545) |
|---|---|
| Eligible workers and elections | Each employee of every employer in the state, on election days; no voter-registration or election-type gate stated (§ 7-1-102) |
| Outside-work-hours test | No fixed threshold; the employer must schedule work hours so each employee has an opportunity to vote (§ 7-1-102) |
| Time-off amount | No fixed amount; a schedule accommodation giving an opportunity to vote, not a set number of hours (§ 7-1-102) |
| Paid or unpaid | N/A The statute requires schedule accommodation, not a paid leave period; no wage-continuation provision (§ 7-1-102) |
| When leave is taken | Employer controls by scheduling work hours to leave a voting opportunity; statute sets no employee-chosen window (§ 7-1-102) |
| Employee notice and employer posting | N/A Statute imposes no employee-notice or employer-posting duty |
| Protection and penalties | Employer that fails or refuses to comply is, on conviction, subject to a fine of $25 to $250 (§ 7-1-102) |
Compare this rule across all 50 states + DC →
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).
Source links
Every statute quoted above, linked, with the date we checked it.
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