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By: FEDweek StaffA group of about nearly two dozen House Republicans, many of them ranking members of committees or subcommittees, have questioned federal agencies about their implementation of a 2021 executive order that set a series of tasks for them and also opened the way for a substantial expansion of paid time off for federal employees for voting.
The order told agencies to evaluate ways in which they can promote voter registration and voter participation through steps such as providing information about how to register and voting options; and to evaluate whether any identity documents issued by the agency to members of the public can be issued in a form that satisfies state voter identification laws, among other responsibilities.
In response, OPM late last year told agencies that they should allow up to four hours of paid time off per “election event” for employees who volunteer to serve as non-partisan poll workers or non partisan observers. That is to include primaries and caucuses in addition to a general election, elections at the federal, state, county, municipal, tribal or territorial level, and either election day or for early voting.
Under prior policy, agencies could grant up to three hours of administrative leave for voting only if polls were not open at least three hours either before or after an employee’s regular work hours and generally only on election day.
In letters to a number of departments and agencies, the House group asked agencies what steps they have taken under the order; what statutory authority allowed them to take those steps; how they are being funded; whether they are carrying out voter registration activities onsite; and what steps they have taken to assure that employees do not violate the Hatch Act.
The group included the ranking Republicans on the Oversight and Reform Committee, Rep. James Comer of Kentucky and its government operations subcommittee, Rep. Jody Hice of Georgia, and the letters went to OPM and GSA, among others.
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