In an effort to grow voter turnout for the 2018 election, Austin City Council wants all local businesses in the city to provide time off for employees to vote between the kickoff of early voting Oct. 22 and Election Day on Nov. 6. Council passed a resolution Thursday urging such action 9-1, with District 8 Council Member Ellen Troxclair dissenting and District 7 Council Member Leslie Pool absent. In a 2018 report from the Annette Strauss Institute for Civic Life, Texas ranked 47th in voter turnout for the 2016 presidential election. The same report said one in five Texans who did not vote blamed lack of time or conflicting work schedules. “No one should have to choose between getting to work on time or exercising their right to vote,” District 2 Council Member Delia Garza said at a press conference Thursday morning. Garza was the resolution’s head sponsor. In the 2016 presidential election 64.56 percent of registered Austinites turned out, while 59.39 percent of registered Texans turned out, according to the Texas Secretary of State’s office. Austin has taken measures in recent years to increase voter turnout, none larger than the switch from May to November for City Council elections and from an at large City Council system—the entire city elects six council members and the mayor—to the current 10-1 system—the city is divided into 10 districts, each district elects its own representative and the entire city elects the mayor. In September the Capital Metro board voted to provide free bus rides on Election Day in even-numbered years. David Edmondson, the top executive at the Austin Tech Alliance, said, in a job climate where tech companies are fighting for top talent, this resolution was good for business. “This is a pro-business approach,” Edmondson said. “An employee that votes and is civically engaged is more likely to build roots here. We want to keep them here.” Texas code currently forbids employers from docking the pay of employees who work a 7 a.m.-7 p.m. shift and go to vote on Election Day. Austin’s resolution encourages more flexibility and asks employers to give employees time to vote during early voting as well and to actively inform employees of this right. In her dissent Troxclair said although she encourages people to go out and vote, she did not think the city should push businesses in this direction and said the resolution moves the city toward mandatory voting, which she does not support.