How do I appropriately ask if one is registered to vote?

[heyjude]

Get some voter reg cards and leave them in the break room.

[mssaint]

Do you offer time off to vote? Even just a couple of hours? You could announce that and encourage everyone to register by the deadline if they aren’t already.

I also think you could give everyone a flyer with the deadline and how to register.

[heyjude]

Sept 19, 2018 8:18:25 GMT -5 mssaint said:

Do you offer time off to vote? Even just a couple of hours? You could announce that and encourage everyone to register by the deadline if they aren’t already.

I also think you could give everyone a flyer with the deadline and how to register.

Isn’t it the law to give time off to vote or is that a state by state thing?

[seeyalater52]

Sept 19, 2018 8:23:27 GMT -5 heyjude said:

Sept 19, 2018 8:18:25 GMT -5 mssaint said:

Do you offer time off to vote? Even just a couple of hours? You could announce that and encourage everyone to register by the deadline if they aren’t already.

I also think you could give everyone a flyer with the deadline and how to register.

Isn’t it the law to give time off to vote or is that a state by state thing?

It varies a lot state to state in terms of under what circumstances you’re required to give the time off and whether it’s paid or unpaid, or how long the window must be. In most cases if you can feasibly vote before or after work hours you’re not entitled to time off but a handful of states are fairly generous.

[cosmowife]

I think I might be missing something - why are you discussing politics at work? Especially as a relative of the owners? Perhaps I don’t understand your question.

[Captain Catnip]

Sept 19, 2018 8:33:56 GMT -5 cosmowife said:

I think I might be missing something - why are you discussing politics at work? Especially as a relative of the owners? Perhaps I don’t understand your question.

This...it really isn't your business if they are. I get where you are coming from but no.

[froggy76]

I agree this isn't something you should be asking about. If you want send an e-mail to let employees know that you're supportive of them taking time away from work on election day to vote, that is one way to bring it up and then offer a link to register or update registration. But I don't think it should be any pushier than that.

[aurora]

Sept 19, 2018 8:33:56 GMT -5 cosmowife said:

I think I might be missing something - why are you discussing politics at work? Especially as a relative of the owners? Perhaps I don’t understand your question.

I don't see offering information about voting options as "discussing politics at work." I agree she shouldn't get into discussions about candidates or the issues, but it's absolutely appropriate for the business owner to inform employees of their options for casting a ballot on election day.

[seeyalater52]

Sept 19, 2018 8:43:50 GMT -5 aurora said:

Sept 19, 2018 8:33:56 GMT -5 cosmowife said:

I think I might be missing something - why are you discussing politics at work? Especially as a relative of the owners? Perhaps I don’t understand your question.

I don't see offering information about voting options as "discussing politics at work." I agree she shouldn't get into discussions about candidates or the issues, but it's absolutely appropriate for the business owner to inform employees of their options for caring a ballot on election day.

And to clarify or remind employees about company policies related to voting in a non-partisan way, especially if those policies are more generous than state law.

[heyjude]

There is a nexus between voting and the workday/employers though as voting happens on a workday in this country which is why many states have laws about it. Some states require notices on this topic. So you should probably research what laws your state has on this topic and work within those confines. I think your heart is in a noble place.

[WOT?*]

You don't. Especially as it's not your place of work, but a business your DH and BIL co-own. It's not illegal but it could make for an uncomfortable work environment they have to deal with when you're not there (especially as you notice "eyes glazing over.") The best you can and should do is encourage your DH and BIL to give them time off to vote: let them come in late, take a long lunch, leave early - whatever works best for each individual. Just have them tell HR in advance whichever it will be so coverage can be worked out for that day. (Or simply have the office open late or close early so everyone's on the same page.) Your DH can make (or have HR send out) an announcement for whatever action they want to take. If you want to have DH leave some registration cards in the office with a note that registration deadline is X date, it's not *pushing* the registration but making it easy to register.

[waverly]

We routinely post information on how to register and vote. It’s more because customers will ask us about it but employees are free to use that information on their own if they want, of course. The information comes from the county clerks office and is sent out via management of the organization.

[VillainV]

In the military, we constantly have programs and emails designed to help military members register to vote. This time of year it's nearly constant. None of it has any kind of political slate -- the aim is just to help people register. I think you can take the same approach -- offer materials for anyone who may want assistance in registering or finding their local polling place, include information about absentee voting, and make sure they know that they can have flexible hours on election day so that they can vote. That's all you need to do.

[EllieArroway]

Just today at work I got an email with instructions on how to register to vote & the deadline to do so in my state. I think it came from HR.

[sunnysally]

Are there state or federal generated posters about voting? I know we have several posters about minimum wage, FMLA, and OSHA, posted at work. If there is something available that is government generated, it would remove any implication of bias from you. That coupled with voter registration cards would be encouraging.

[ECB]

I agree- it's one thing to offer time to go vote, send out information about registering, etc. That's fine.

But the political comments to your DH while in the office? Yeah- that needs to stop. DH used to work for a law firm and the 3 head partners were dicks. All of them. One year, DH felt VERY pressured to donate to a candidate who we did not agree with but that his boss supported. To the point where DH was actually worried for his job if he didn't donate.

That was one of many reasons that DH eventually left that firm. It was a toxic environment on many levels, but the political aspect was absolutely one of them.

You need to keep your politics out of the office. Full stop. You say you "can't help if they overhear" - um, yes you can. You can make those comments to DH in his office, or better yet, at home.

[tamarindy]

Their eyes may be glazing over because of the awkwardness they feel when their boss's wife comes in the break room with political commentary. It's inappropriate.

[WOT?*]

Sept 20, 2018 7:59:46 GMT -5 ECB said:

I agree- it's one thing to offer time to go vote, send out information about registering, etc. That's fine.

But the political comments to your DH while in the office? Yeah- that needs to stop. DH used to work for a law firm and the 3 head partners were dicks. All of them. One year, DH felt VERY pressured to donate to a candidate who we did not agree with but that his boss supported. To the point where DH was actually worried for his job if he didn't donate.

That was one of many reasons that DH eventually left that firm. It was a toxic environment on many levels, but the political aspect was absolutely one of them.

You need to keep your politics out of the office. Full stop. You say you "can't help if they overhear" - um, yes you can. You can make those comments to DH in his office, or better yet, at home.

Glad your DH got out of there in time. One of my friends (a former co-worker) was absolutely pressured to donate to a Republican candidate and the party by one of her former employers years ago, before she started with our firm. She's a huge Democrat, to the point that she hosts major fundraisers in her home for folks like Sherrod Brown, and you could hear her growl any time she got an e-mail thanks to her former employers putting her on the Republican hit-list. Took her *years* to get off their mailing list.

[livinitup]

“Remember, everyone has a right to vote and this election is very important. If you’ve had a name change or an address change since the last election, you need to re-register. You can even register as ‘not affiliated to a party’ if you don’t have a preference. Here is a voter registration card if you need one.”