Voting on Election Day

From: Human Resources

Election Day is Tuesday, Nov. 7. Virginia Tech is supportive of all employees exercising their right to vote in the upcoming elections.

Election Day is a staff-only holiday, meaning the university is open. Based on business needs, staff should work with their supervisor to schedule time off to observe the holiday or work and earn compensatory time.

Other employees should work with their supervisors so they can exercise their right to vote. Employees are asked to work with their supervisor should their work hours need to be adjusted.

While the university encourages civic engagement, all political activity should be kept separate from the workplace. Political opinion should not be shared as a Zoom background, email tag line, poster, or in other forms in the workplace. The Statement of Business Conduct Standards says the following under the Professional and Personal Integrity section:

“The university encourages interest in civic affairs. The only restriction placed upon such activities is that such activities not interfere with the employee’s job responsibilities. Employees must take care to ensure that their university related activities are kept separate from their political activities; it must be clear that they act as citizens in such activities, not as representatives of the university. Further, employees must not use university resources, including computer and network systems and university work time to promote political positions or political campaigns.”

For questions or concerns, contact the HR Service Center at hrservicecenter@vt.edu or at 540-231-9331.

For specific questions about voting, please contact your local Voter Registration office. For in-person voting, polling hours throughout the Commonwealth of Virginia are from 6 a.m. until 7 p.m. on Election Day. As long as you are in line by 7 p.m., you will be able to vote.