Hollywood is readying for Election Day on Nov. 8 — and that means making sure industry staffers are able to get to and from polling places. The Hollywood Reporter surveyed every major film studio and talent agency for specifics about what measures are being made to allow wannabe voters the chance to cast their ballots, and while not all are bending hours or pushing back Tuesday’s workday, some are.
That includes CAA and Paradigm. The two agencies will have 11 a.m. start times Nov. 8, allowing employees to vote in the morning before work.
CAA is participating in something else that can also be qualified as “official.” The top agency has teamed up with a handful of entertainment and media companies to encourage employees to vote as part of Take Tuesday, a new, nonpartisan voter turnout campaign aimed at increasing voter by asking companies to give employees time to vote.
Joining CAA in the initiative: J.J. Abrams’ Bad Robot, Funny or Die, Will Ferrell and Adam McKay’s Gary Sanchez Prods., the Dallas Mavericks, GOOD, Grubhub, Seamless, GM, Ford, Chrysler, Thrillist, Casper, DataXu and other companies. Also a trio of Mark Cuban-backed entities have also joined the effort, including Dallas Mavericks, Magnolia Pictures and Landmark Theaters.
According to the California Elections Code, employees are actually eligible for paid time off to vote only if they don’t have sufficient time outside of their normal workday to cast their ballot. Polls in California are open from 7 a.m. through 8 p.m. and according to the code, employees can be given as much time as they need to cast their votes, but make it quick: Only a maximum of two hours is to be paid.
