Nevada: Voting Leave Requirements
The short answer
A Nevada registered voter who cannot practically vote before or after work may take paid time off to vote, in an amount set by distance from work to the polling place: one hour if two miles or less, two hours if up to ten miles, and three hours if farther. The employer designates the time of day, and the employee must apply for the leave before election day. The employer may not deduct pay, discipline, or discharge the employee for the absence, and an employer that denies the right or otherwise violates the section is guilty of a misdemeanor.
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This is the general rule in Nevada. Ezel applies current Nevada law to your specific facts and answers with citations to the statutes.
| Governing law | NRS 293.463 |
|---|---|
| Eligible workers and elections | Any registered voter employed in Nevada, where it is impracticable to vote before or after the voter's hours of employment (§ 293.463(1)) |
| Outside-work-hours test | Leave applies only if it is impracticable for the voter to vote before or after working hours (§ 293.463(1)) |
| Time-off amount | Sufficient time set by distance from work to the polling place: 2 miles or less = 1 hour; more than 2 but not more than 10 miles = 2 hours; more than 10 miles = 3 hours (§ 293.463(1)) |
| Paid or unpaid | Paid — no deduction from usual salary or wages for the absence (§ 293.463(2)) |
| When leave is taken | The employer designates the time of day at which the voter takes the leave (§ 293.463(1)) |
| Employee notice and employer posting | Employee must apply to the employer (or person authorized to grant leave) for the time off before the day of the election; § 293.463 states no employer-posting duty (§ 293.463(3)) |
| Protection and penalties | The voter may not be discharged, disciplined, or penalized, and no wage deduction may be made, for the absence; an employer who denies the right or otherwise violates the section is guilty of a misdemeanor (§ 293.463(2), (4)) |
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How much time, and who qualifies
Nevada gives a registered voter paid time off to vote, but only when it is
impracticable to vote before or after working hours. If that condition is met, the
amount of time is set by how far the workplace is from the voter's polling place:
- Two miles or less: one hour.
- More than two miles but not more than ten: two hours.
- More than ten miles: three hours.
The distance schedule is the whole of the duration rule. There is no separate
"enough time to vote" standard layered on top; the mileage bracket fixes the number
of hours.
The time is paid and protected
The absence cannot be used against the employee. Under subsection 2, a voter may
not be discharged, disciplined, or penalized because of the absence, and no
deduction may be made from usual salary or wages. Nevada is a paid-leave state for
qualifying voting time.
The employer sets the hour; you must ask first
Two procedural rules frame the right. The employer designates the time of day at
which the employee takes the leave — the employee does not simply pick the moment.
And the employee must apply for the leave, to the employer or whoever is authorized
to grant it, before the day of the election. A request made on election day itself
is outside the statute.
What trips people up
The impracticability gate comes first. If an employee's schedule already leaves a
realistic chance to vote before or after the shift, the paid-leave right does not
engage. The distance table only matters once voting off-hours is genuinely
impractical.
The before-election-day application is easy to miss. The right is real, but it is
conditioned on asking in advance; the employer is entitled to that notice to
designate a time.
Common questions
How much paid time off do I get in Nevada?
One, two, or three hours, depending on the distance from your work to your polling
place — but only if you cannot practically vote before or after your shift.
Do I have to tell my employer ahead of time?
Yes. You must apply for the leave before election day, and the employer designates
the time of day you take it.
What if my employer refuses?
An employer that denies the right, or otherwise violates the section, is guilty of
a misdemeanor, and it may not dock your pay, discipline, or fire you for the
absence.
Statutes and sources
- NRS 293.463: paid voting leave when off-hours voting is impracticable, the
distance-based one-/two-/three-hour schedule, the employer's time designation,
the before-election-day application, and the misdemeanor for denial — official code text
(accessed July 13, 2026).
Source links
Every statute quoted above, linked, with the date we checked it.
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