Vanderbilt University encourages all employees to exercise their right to vote and, whenever possible, to vote during nonworking hours or by absentee ballot. However, the university understands this is not possible for every employee. Human Resources’ voting policy provides employees with a reasonable period of paid time away from work, not to exceed three hours, to vote.
During early voting for the 2022 midterm elections, or on Election Day, Vanderbilt University employees who are registered to vote may be absent from work for a reasonable paid period of time, not to exceed three hours. Tennessee’s early voting period is Oct. 19–Nov. 3. Election Day is Tuesday, Nov. 8.
Read Vanderbilt University’s voting policy. >>
Please note that if an employee’s schedule begins three hours or more after the opening of the polls or ends three hours or more before the closing of the polls, the employee’s department is not required to approve time off from work to vote. Additionally, as with all leaves, a supervisor must review and approve the employee’s time away from work in advance. Details are included in the policy, and questions can be directed to Human Resources at human.resources@vanderbilt.edu or to your department’s HR consultant, which can be found by searching here.
In an effort to keep the Vanderbilt community informed and to make voting easier, the university has teamed up with TurboVote, a platform that allows users to get help with voter registration, sign up for election reminders, and locate specific vote-by-mail information. For more details on early voting, visit the Vote Early in Tennessee guide.
Important Dates
Deadline to return absentee ballot by mail: Nov. 8
Election Day: Nov. 8
For more information, visit the Vanderbilt, Let’s Vote website.