Voter rate bad, getting worse

Voter participation in New York has been slumping for years. This time around, employers across the city and state are trying to help change that. Only 29% of eligible New Yorkers voted in the 2014 midterm elections, leaving us 46th out of 50 states. In 2008, the last time both major parties held a presidential primary, only 19% of eligible voters went to the polls.

You can explain away some of this low turnout. The Empire State comes late in the primary cycle, by which point a nominee is typically chosen, and many congressional races in heavily partisan districts are not competitive.

But whatever the reason, low voter participation is becoming our new normal — and we should do everything possible to reverse it.

With Tuesday’s presidential primary right around the corner — a vote that, in both parties, matters for the first time in a long time — another round of all-time low participation would be a loss for our state.

Our residents may have many reasons for declining to vote, but there’s one we should not hear: “I couldn’t take time off from work.”

A job should never be a barrier to voting. And in New York, by law, it isn’t supposed to be. Employers must remind their employees of an important state law that can help get more New Yorkers to the polls.

This law — which was enacted in 1976 — gives employees up to two hours of paid leave on a primary day or Election Day if they do not have sufficient time to vote. That’s two hours of state-mandated time to go cast a ballot.