Leave for Voting or Serving as an Election Official

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Policy Number:
UW-5059
Old Policy Number:
16.11
Responsible Office:
Office of Human Resources

University Policy

Rationale/​Purpose:

Wis. Stat. § 7.33(4) provides that state employees may act as "election officials" without loss of pay when their election duties occur on a scheduled workday. Wis. Stat. § 6.76 provides employees the opportunity to vote when they are otherwise unable to do so during non-work hours in elections for which they are eligible. This policy establishes the leave and pay status for engaging in these activities.

Definitions:
Election Official
An individual who is charged with any duties relating to the conduct of an election, Wis. Stat. § 5.02(4e).  This includes election inspectors, chief inspectors, election registration officials, special voting deputies, tabulators, and greeters.
Scope:

Faculty, Academic Staff, Limited appointees, and University Staff.

Policy:

  1. Leave of Absence for Voting

    1. All sick-leave eligible faculty, academic staff, limited appointees, or university staff are entitled to up to three consecutive hours of leave with pay to vote. Employees who are not sick-leave eligible are entitled to leave without pay to vote. The employee must submit an absence request to their supervisor prior to the day of the election.  
    2. In these instances, the employee is to arrange with their supervisor a flexible schedule that will allow them to vote that day, or use appropriate leave with pay, or take leave without pay when all other options are exhausted. If leave without pay is the only available option, the employee must receive approval to enter unpaid leave of absence status prior to its start.

  2. Leave to Serve as an Election Official

    1. All sick-leave eligible faculty, academic staff, limited appointees, or university staff are entitled to leave with pay to serve as an election official during work hours on a public, special, primary or general election day. Employees who are not sick-leave eligible are entitled to leave without pay to serve as an election official. The employee must provide their supervisor at least seven days' notice of application for leave to serve as an election official. All employees are encouraged to make such requests as soon as they know they will serve to enable their supervisors to plan for coverage.
    2. The employee must submit the UW-Madison Employee Request to Serve as an Election Official form along with verification from the municipal clerk of their appointment as an election official. If the employee does not submit verification from the municipal clerk with the form, the employing unit reserves the right to request verification directly from the municipal clerk.
    3. The employee shall be granted a leave of absence with pay for the entire 24-hour period of each election day in which the employee serves as an election official. See Section E. for the required deduction.
    4. Per Wis. Stat. §7.33 (5), an employee who obtains a paid leave of absence for serving as an election official must certify in writing the amount of compensation received for such service. This is to be recorded on the UW-Madison Employee Request to Serve as an Election Official form after the election.
    5. The employing unit payroll must deduct the amount of compensation received from the employee's service as an election official to comply with Wis. Stat. §7.33 (5).
Related UW–Madison Documents, Web Pages, or Other Resources:

UW-Madison Employee Request to Serve as an Election Official

External References:

Policy Administration

Approval Authority:
Vice Chancellor for Finance and Administration
Policy Manager:
Associate Vice Chancellor/Chief Human Resources Officer
Contact:
Employment Relations Director -- Megan Dzyuba, wr@ohr.wisc.edu, (608) 890-3663
Date Issued:
06-26-2015
Revised Dates:

04-05-2019, 10-20-2023

Retrieved:
04-19-2024 14:00:22