Last Updated: October 21, 2026 Reading Time: 6 min

Federal employees are asking whether they can take paid time to vote in the November 3, 2026 midterms, and the answer has changed since the last federal election. Time off to vote is now up to your agency, it is meant for people who cannot reasonably vote outside work hours, and when it is granted it is generally no more than 3 hours. The memos that used to give up to 4 hours have been withdrawn.

What OPM's Current Voting Leave Policy Says

The rule sits in OPM's administrative leave fact sheet. Your agency "has discretion to grant administrative leave for voting in limited circumstances," specifically those "in which there is no reasonable opportunity for an employee to vote outside of their regular work hours," and "only to the extent that such time off does not interfere with agency operations."

When an agency does grant it, guidance limits the time. OPM says it "should generally be limited to the hours required to vote" and "should generally not exceed three hours in length."

In practice, plan to vote on your own time where you can, because OPM ties voting leave to having no reasonable opportunity to vote outside work hours. If your commute, shift or polling hours leave no realistic window, ask your supervisor before Election Day.

What Changed Since 2024

Two earlier sources of voting leave are gone.

  • The 2021 executive order. Executive Order 14148 revoked Executive Order 14019, "Promoting Access to Voting," on the President's first day back in office in January 2025.
  • The 4-hour memos. OPM says it "has rescinded two previous Biden Administration guidance memoranda" on voting leave, and that the former guidance "has been rescinded by EO 14148." Those memos had allowed up to 4 hours of administrative leave to vote and to serve as a nonpartisan poll worker.

If a coworker remembers getting half a day to vote in 2022 or 2024, that was under guidance that no longer applies.

Can You Get Leave for Early Voting?

Rarely. OPM says agencies should grant administrative leave for early voting on a scheduled workday only when one of two alternatives applies, joined in OPM's text by "or". Agency discretion and operational needs still apply:

  1. You will be unable to vote on Election Day because of activities "directly related to the agency's mission (such as Temporary Duty (TDY) travel)" and you "cannot vote by absentee ballot or by early voting on a nonworkday."
  2. Early voting hours "are the same as, or exceed, voting hours on the day of the election."

If you will be on official travel on November 3, the first route is the one to raise with your supervisor, and the realistic first step is an absentee ballot.

Working the Polls on November 3

You can still be a poll worker. You just should not expect administrative leave for it.

OPM's current policy already says agencies should not give administrative leave for poll work, and the old 4-hour allowance for poll work is gone with the rescinded memos. OPM's administrative leave final rule, published October 19, 2026, writes that ban into regulation at 5 C.F.R. § 630.1403(b)(5), barring administrative leave for working the polls or serving as a poll observer. That rule takes effect November 18, 2026, two weeks after Election Day, so on November 3 the regulation itself does not yet contain the ban. The policy result is the same either way.

To work the polls, use annual leave, comp time, credit hours, a flexible-schedule shift, or leave without pay.

From November 18, the same final rule keeps voting itself as an allowed reason for administrative leave, at the agency's discretion: 5 C.F.R. § 630.1403(c)(2) lists "an employee who has not voted early with a reasonable opportunity to vote on a regular election day." Voting leave also does not count against the 10-workday yearly limit on administrative leave for investigative purposes; the rule's preamble lists voting among separate purposes like blood donation and emergency closures.

What to Do Before November 3

  1. Check your polling hours against your shift and commute.
  2. If there is no reasonable window, ask your supervisor in writing for voting leave, and say why.
  3. If you will be traveling for work, request an absentee ballot now, and raise the early-voting route only if that fails.
  4. If you plan to work the polls, request annual leave or a schedule change, not administrative leave.
  5. Mind the Hatch Act at work and on social media on Election Day; our Hatch Act midterms guide covers the rules.

Plan Your Leave

If you need a full day off to vote or to work the polls, the Federal Leave Optimizer helps schedule whole days using the leave balances you enter. To judge year-end use-or-lose leave, use your payroll balance and expected accruals separately.

Frequently Asked Questions

Do federal employees get paid time off to vote in 2026?

Not automatically. OPM says agencies have discretion to grant administrative leave for voting only where an employee has no reasonable opportunity to vote outside regular work hours. When granted, it is generally limited to the hours needed and generally no more than 3 hours.

Do federal employees still get 4 hours to vote?

No. OPM rescinded the 2022 and 2024 memos that allowed up to 4 hours, and the 2021 voting-access executive order was revoked in January 2025.

Can I take administrative leave to vote early?

Only in narrow cases. OPM lists two alternatives: mission work such as official travel keeps you from voting on Election Day and you cannot vote absentee or early on a day off, or early voting hours match or exceed Election Day hours. Agency discretion and operational needs still apply.

Can I get administrative leave to be a poll worker on November 3?

OPM's current policy says agencies should not grant it, and a final rule writes that ban into regulation on November 18, 2026. Use annual leave, comp time, credit hours, a schedule change or leave without pay instead.

Does voting leave count against the 10-day administrative leave limit?

No. The 10-workday yearly limit applies to administrative leave for investigative purposes, not to voting leave. Investigative leave under 5 U.S.C. 6329b is a separate category. OPM's new rule lists voting among separate purposes for administrative leave.

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