Voting: Alaska

This Voting policy applies to employees in Alaska under AS 15.15.100 and AS 15.56.100, which protect eligible employees' ability to take unpaid time off to vote when their work schedule would otherwise leave too little time outside working hours while polls are open. Your Alaska-specific policy should set clear expectations for when unpaid voting leave is available, how employees should coordinate timing with their supervisor, and how your organization will support voting without disrupting essential operations.

The History Behind Voting Policies in Alaska

Voting Leave policies came into being because Election Day isn't a mandated holiday, and many Alaskans work shifts that overlap polling hours. Alaska addressed that head-on in AS 15.15.100, which gives eligible voters a right to take time off work to vote when their schedule leaves too little time around poll hours. The statute also lets you treat that time as unpaid, which is an important piece to specify in your handbook policy.

Alaska backed the right to vote with enforcement provisions. AS 15.56.100 makes it a crime to interfere with a person's voting rights, and that includes pressure that comes from a workplace. That criminal overlay is why a voting policy often reads more like a scheduling rule than a perk, because you want managers to focus on coverage and timing, not on second-guessing an employee's reason for voting or commenting on how they vote.

Employers also had to get realistic about Alaska's geography and election logistics. Travel time, limited polling locations in some areas, and long shifts in industries like healthcare, oil and gas, seafood processing, and public safety can make "just go before or after work" unfeasible. A simple rule tied to the "two hours after polls open" and "two hours before polls close" standard tracks the statute closely and keeps decisions consistent across worksites.

Which Law is the Voting Policy Meant to Comply With?

If you create and distribute a Voting Policy for your Alaska-based employees, it is in an effort to comply with Alaska's AS 15.15.100 and AS 15.56.100.

How to Write an Alaska-Specific Voting Policy

• Start with "why" and introduce the concept by encouraging employees to vote and explaining that time off may be needed to do it.
• State that eligible employees may take unpaid time off to vote when their work schedule does not allow enough time outside working hours.
• Explain that employees should coordinate the timing of voting time off with their supervisor.

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 Alaska's requirements), you may not need a separate policy here. 

Other Considerations

The law applies to Alaska employers who have at least 1 employee in the US.

Exceptions

None.