Voting Leave Requirements in Missouri

At a glance

Three successive off-duty hours defeat the leave claim

Missouri grants a three-hour election-day absence only when the employee lacks three successive hours outside the employer's service while the polls are open. The statute uses a continuous-block test, not the total number of off-duty polling hours scattered around a shift.

For example, if polls are open from 6 a.m. to 7 p.m. and the employee's shift ends at 5 p.m., the two hours after work are not enough; the employee may request the statutory leave. If the shift ends at 4 p.m., the employee already has three successive polling hours and § 115.639 does not require leave.

The employer selects the three-hour period

The employee receives a three-hour period between poll opening and closing, but the employer may specify which three hours. The statute does not give the employee a right to insist on the beginning or end of the shift.

The employee must request the absence before election day. Section 115.639 does not set a particular hour, a longer advance-notice period, or a required written form.

Pay and discipline protection depend on voting

The statute says an employee “if he votes” may not be penalized or disciplined and may not have salary or wages deducted because of the absence. It also says the voting absence may not be a reason for discharge or threatened discharge.

An employer that violates § 115.639 commits a class four election offense. Section 115.637 classifies that offense as a misdemeanor and authorizes up to one year of imprisonment, a fine up to $2,500, or both.

What trips people up

The employee does not automatically receive three hours merely because the employee works on election day. A qualifying employee must lack a three-hour successive off-duty block while polls are open and must request leave before the day of the election.

The statute also ties its no-deduction and no-discipline protections to the employee actually voting. It does not state a receipt or certificate procedure, but its text expressly uses “if he votes.”

Common questions

Can the employer decide when the employee leaves?

Yes. The employer may specify any three hours while the polls are open.

Does the employee have to make a written request?

Section 115.639 requires a request before election day but does not require a particular form.

What if the employee takes the leave but does not vote?

The statute expressly conditions its protection against discipline, another penalty, and a wage deduction on the employee voting.

Statutes and sources

• Mo. Rev. Stat. § 115.639: eligibility, three-hour leave, outside-work-hours exception, pay and discipline protection, request timing, employer control, and offense classification — official text (accessed July 13, 2026).
• Mo. Rev. Stat. § 115.637: class four election-offense punishment — official text (accessed July 13, 2026).