The Civics Trust Encourages Employees to use CTO to Serve as Nonpartisan Poll Workers
The Fox Cities Chamber is partnering with U.S. Chamber of Commerce Foundation to spread awareness of the Civil Time Off (CTO) initiative. The goal of the CTO initiative is to encourage employees to serve as nonpartisan poll workers, filling a crucial shortage and giving employees first-hand insight into how elections work.
Civic Time Off is a flexible initiative that’s open to employers of any size, anywhere in the U.S. Since CTO is designed to encourage more Americans to serve as nonpartisan election workers, all that’s necessary for employers to participate is to include poll working in paid time off policies and share information with employees on how to sign up. Employers have full discretion in implementing CTO. They can offer extra time off or simply inform employees about using existing paid time off. This initiative is designed to be as flexible and accommodating for employers’ existing policies as possible, while encouraging employees to help fill a crucial need for nonpartisan poll workers.
By encouraging employees to consider using paid time off to serve as nonpartisan poll workers, employers play a critical role in filling the need for election workers across America—while giving employees the opportunity to gain knowledge on how elections are administered. Increased civic engagement has positive benefits for businesses, communities, and employees. Studies have shown that higher rates of civic participation correlate to healthier employees, including better psychological well-being, physical benefits, and emotional health. Additionally,
economists have found that a healthy democracy is critical to a healthy free market economy. Implementing Civic Time Off is a way for employers to help increase civic knowledge, trust, and engagement among employees, leading to stronger communities and a more robust civic culture.
The U.S. Chamber Foundation has provided a toolkit that walks companies through how to get buy in and encourage employees to take Civic Time Off to become nonpartisan poll workers, including email templates to send out, social media blurbs, and other resources. View that here https://civics.uschamberfoundation.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/Civic-Time-Off-Toolkit-2024.pdf
Learn more about becoming a poll worker, or sign up today: https://www.powerthepolls.org/thecivictrust
About the Fox Cities Chamber
Founded in 1874, the Fox Cities Chamber is a nonprofit membership organization that unites the regional business community for greater economic impact. Serving Outagamie, Calumet, and northern Winnebago Counties, the Fox Cities Chamber is the second largest Chamber in the state. Our organization proudly captures the energy of one of Wisconsin’s most dynamic regions and transforms it into innovative programs and services to champion employers, economic development, and quality of life. The Fox Cities Chamber is celebrating its 150th anniversary in 2024. For more information, visit https://foxcitieschamber.com/chamber-150th-anniversary/.
