Kansas City will offer paid days off to employees who volunteer for Election Day jobs
Kansas City will offer its employees up to two paid days off to work at polling locations in time for Missouri’s August primary and this fall’s presidential and gubernatorial elections, the City Council decided Thursday.
Members voted 10-1 in favor of legislation offered last week by Mayor Quinton Lucas and Councilwoman Katheryn Shields. It allows city employees to work up to two election days a year and be paid for regular eight-hour workdays. They can also keep any pay provided by the election board.
“It will help people vote: vote faster, with greater ease, and to make everyone’s voices heard this November and beyond,” Lucas said in a statement last week.
The proposal comes as election authorities grapple with holding votes during the coroanvirus pandemic.
For Kansas City’s June 2 municipal election, there were just 28 polling places — compared to the normal 115. The Kansas City Election Authority ended up with about 400 volunteer election judges compared to the 1,200 who initially signed up, many of them in the at-risk age range of 65-plus.
Voters will head to the polls in Missouri’s primary Aug. 4. Polls are open from 6 a.m. to 7 p.m. Voters must register by July 8.
The general election is Nov. 3. The registration deadline in Missouri is Oct. 7.
Councilman Brandon Ellington abstained from the vote. Shields and Councilman Dan Fowler did not vote.
This story was originally published June 18, 2020 at 6:47 PM.
