<P> Delaware, Hawaii, Kentucky, Montana, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, West Virginia, and the territory of Puerto Rico have declared Election Day a civic holiday . Some other states require that workers be permitted to take time off from employment without loss of pay . California Elections Code Section 14000 and New York State Election Law provide that employees without sufficient time to vote must be allowed two hours off with pay, at the beginning or end of a shift . Democracy Day, a planned federal holiday to coincide with Election Day, was unsuccessfully proposed in the U.S. House of Representatives and the U.S. Senate in 2005 . It was later reintroduced in the Senate in 2014 and has not been enacted . </P> <P> Some employers allow their employees to come in late or leave early on Election Day to allow them an opportunity to get to their precinct and vote . The United Auto Workers union has negotiated making Election Day a holiday for workers of U.S. domestic auto manufacturers . In July 2016, venture capitalist Hunter Walk began encouraging tech companies to give their employees time off to vote on Election Day . Walk's campaign evolved into a website, TakeOffElectionDay.com, which now highlights the 140 + tech companies (including Spotify, Wikimedia Foundation, Autodesk, and Square, Inc .) that are giving their employees time to vote on Election Day . </P> <P> Most states allow for early voting, allowing voters to cast ballots before the Election Day . Early voting periods vary from 4 to 50 days prior to Election Day . Unconditional early voting in person is allowed in 32 states and in D.C. Also, most states have some kind of absentee ballot system . Unconditional absentee voting by mail is allowed in 27 states and D.C., and with an excuse in another 21 states . Unconditional permanent absentee voting is allowed in 7 states and in D.C. </P> <P> In Colorado, Oregon and Washington State all major elections are by postal voting, with ballot papers sent to voters several weeks before Election Day . In Colorado and Oregon, all postal votes must be received by a set time on Election Day, as is common with absentee ballots in most states (except overseas military ballots, which receive more time by federal law). Washington State requires postal votes be postmarked by Election Day . For the 2008 presidential election, 32% of votes were early votes . </P>

Who sets the date for holding congressional elections