Election Official Leave: Delaware

This Election Official Leave policy applies to employees in Delaware under Delaware election laws and explains how your organization will handle time off requests when an employee is appointed to serve as an election officer. Serving at the polls is an important civic duty, but it can also create scheduling and coverage challenges. A clear policy helps you set expectations up front, route requests to the right people, and apply your time off and staffing rules consistently while staying aligned with state requirements.

The History Behind Election Official Leave Policies in Delaware

Election Official Leave comes from the fact that election administrators need volunteers to staff polling places, but those same people often have regular jobs. Delaware has long relied on appointed election officers for Election Day operations, so the state built a legal framework to treat that service as a civic duty with defined rules. Over time, employers started seeing more requests for time off tied to these appointments, especially as staffing needs increased and the pool of available poll workers tightened.

Delaware law now speaks directly to the employment side of that civic duty. Title 15 includes provisions on the appointment and service of election officers and addresses job protection for people who serve when appointed. That legal backbone is why many Delaware employers treat election-officer time off as something to plan for with a policy. It also explains why a good policy will focus on notice, scheduling, and whether paid time off applies.

Which Law is the Election Official Leave Policy Meant to Comply With?

If you create and distribute an Election Official Leave Policy for your Delaware-based employees, it's in an effort to comply with Delaware's 15 Del. C. § 5161 and 15 Del. C. § 4709.

How to Write a Delaware-Specific Election Official Leave Policy

• Start with "why" and introduce the concept of supporting employees who are appointed to serve as election officers in Delaware.
• Explain how employees can use available accrued PTO to cover time away for election officer duties.
• State that employees in critical need positions may have limits on using PTO for this purpose.
• Include a requirement for employees to provide advance notice of planned election officer leave.
• Explain where employees can go with questions about PTO availability or whether their role is considered critical need.

When to Include this Policy in Your Employee Handbook

The law does not require you to publish a policy or issue a specific notice. That said, you still have to comply with the requirements that apply to you as an employer. 

This is a "depends on your workplace" policy. Include it if you offer the benefit, operate in a setting where this comes up, have a state-specific rule that differs from your national approach, or you've had issues in this area before. If you already have a clear all-employee policy that covers the same ground (and it meets Delaware's requirements), you may not need a separate policy here. 

Other Considerations

The law applies to Delaware employers who have at least 21 employees working in the US.

Exceptions

None.