Election News Briefs

New university policy gives employees time off to vote

All employees of the University of Richmond will have more time to vote on Nov. 4 and future election dates thanks to a new Voting Leave policy.

The policy gives employees two paid hours of leave on Nov. 4 to vote if they will not have enough time before or after their shift to go to the polls.

"University of Richmond encourages employees to fulfill their civic responsibility by voting," said Carl Sorensen, associate vice president of human resources, in an e-mail sent on Wednesday.

Employees must give their supervisors a two-working day notice of when they will be leaving work to vote.

This winter break, employees will also have two extra days of vacation. Usually, employees return to work on Jan. 1. Jan. 1, 2009, is on a Thursday so the administration has extended the vacation to Friday, Jan. 2. The policy will only apply to Winter Break 2008 to 2009.

Va. State Board of Elections Web site to undergo changes

The Virginia State Board of Elections Web site's homepage will undergo changes on Nov. 4 to assist voters and election officials in viewing results and other important information about the election, according to an SBE press release.

The homepage will have links to check a voter's registration status, find polling places, view sample ballots and file complaints.

It will also have live feed of the presidential election results in graph form starting at 7:30 p.m. and a link to general election results. Until 7:30 p.m. on Nov. 4, a count down to the election will be on the page, which can be viewed here.

Contact staff writer Stephanie Rice at stephanie.rice@richmond.edu