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Ohio State Political Activity and Poll Worker Guidelines

As election season approaches, here are some reminders about Ohio State's policies on political activity and working the polls.

Political Activity Guidelines: With the upcoming elections, it’s a good time to review the university’s political activity guidelines. University staff and faculty members are encouraged to fully and freely exercise their constitutional right to vote, as well as express their personal opinions regarding political candidates, issues, local, state and national programs, initiatives and referendums on personal time. However, as an employee of a public institution, you are restricted from exercising these rights in a manner that suggests university endorsement of a cause or candidate. 

Poll Worker Guidelines: There have been recent questions related to allowing faculty and staff to work the polls during this upcoming election cycle without needing to use vacation time. While the university allowed this during the 2020 election cycle, doing so was the result of a specific request from the Secretary of State because of worker shortages. Ohio State has not received a similar request for the 2024 election. We encourage managers to be flexible so that faculty and staff can vote, and we also encourage allowing the use of vacation time for those individuals interested in serving as poll workers.