Voting Leave Requirements in Nevada

At a glance

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).