Voting Leave Requirements in Utah
At a glance
| Governing law | Utah Code § 20A-3a-105 |
|---|---|
| Eligible workers and elections | Any voter employed by an employer, for leave on election day while polls are open (§ 20A-3a-105(1)(a)) |
| Outside-work-hours test | No leave if the employee has 3 or more hours while polls are open during which the employee is not employed on the job; statute does not expressly say 'consecutive' (§ 20A-3a-105(2)) |
| Time-off amount | Not more than 2 hours while polls are open (§ 20A-3a-105(1)(a)) |
| Paid or unpaid | Employer may not deduct from the employee's usual salary or wages because of the absence (§ 20A-3a-105(1)(d)) |
| When leave is taken | Employer specifies the hours, but must grant a requested beginning-of-shift or end-of-shift placement (§ 20A-3a-105(1)(c)) |
| Employee notice and employer posting | Voter must apply for leave before election day; no required form, earlier deadline, or employer-posting duty stated (§ 20A-3a-105(1)(b)) |
| Protection and penalties | No salary or wage deduction for the absence; an employer violation is a class B misdemeanor (§ 20A-3a-105(1)(d), (3)) |
Three off-job polling hours defeat the claim
Utah grants up to two election-day hours unless the employee has three or more hours while polls are open during which the employee is not on the job. Unlike some states' statutes, § 20A-3a-105 does not use the word “consecutive.” A policy should not add a continuous-block condition that the text does not state.
The protected absence is paid: the employer may not deduct from the employee's usual salary or wages because of it.
Employer control has a shift-edge exception
The voter must apply before election day. The statute does not prescribe a written form or a longer notice period.
The employer normally specifies the leave hours. If the employee requests the absence at the beginning or end of the shift, however, the employer must grant that placement. The text covers election day and does not extend the employment right to every early-voting day.
An employer that violates § 20A-3a-105 commits a class B misdemeanor.
What trips people up
The leave is “not more than” two hours, so two hours is the statutory cap rather than a minimum. The three-hour exception also uses different wording from statutes that expressly require a consecutive off-duty block.
Utah's code was renumbered in 2020. The current voting-leave section is § 20A-3a-105, not § 20A-3a-103.
Common questions
Can the employee insist on leave at the start of the shift?
Yes. A request for the beginning or end of the shift must be granted.
Must the request be written?
No form is stated, but the application must be made before election day.
Does the law cover an early-voting day?
Section 20A-3a-105 grants the employment absence on election day.
Statutes and sources
- Utah Code § 20A-3a-103: current 17-year-old primary-voting provision, confirming that it is not the employee-leave section — official text (accessed August 16, 2026).
- Utah Code § 20A-3a-105: eligibility, two-hour cap, outside-work exception, advance application, employer control, shift-edge request, pay, and misdemeanor — official text (accessed August 16, 2026).
Source links
Every statute quoted above, linked, with the date we checked it.
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