These US states to observe holiday on voting day

In the United States, Election Day 2026 is scheduled for Tuesday, November 3, but it is not a federal holiday. Congress would need to pass a bill for Election Day to be recognized as a federal holiday, which would require presidential approval. Despite past attempts, Election Day has never been established as a national holiday due to low voter turnout, according to Masslive. In the 2024 presidential election, only 17.8% of registered U.S. adults cited scheduling conflicts as a reason for not voting.

Some companies have gone above and beyond to facilitate voting for their employees. Over 2,000 companies have partnered with Time To Vote to offer paid time off for employees to vote or volunteer at the polls. Patagonia, Walmart, and Starbucks are among the companies that have given employees paid time off on Election Day. In 2024, Patagonia closed stores and granted employees paid time off to vote early, while Walmart and Starbucks began offering the same benefits in the 2020 elections.

While some states consider Election Day a state holiday, such as Illinois, West Virginia, Maryland, Hawaii, and New York, these states do not require companies to provide paid time off for voting. On the other hand, Montana and Indiana have Election Day as a state holiday and close state offices, but they do not mandate paid time off for employees.

Additionally, Colorado and California do not classify Election Day as a state holiday but require employers to pay employees up to two hours if they need to take time off to vote.