Sundays are the most common day for elections, but this is less true in the Anglosphere; Saturdays are used in New Zealand and Australia, and weekdays for the United States, United Kingdom, and Canada. Election Day is a state holiday in Delaware, Hawaii, Kentucky, Indiana, Maryland, Michigan, New Jersey, Rhode Island, and New York. According to Washington Post columnist Ruth Marcus, Australia adopted compulsory voting in 1924 after turnout there dropped to less than 60 percent in 1922. And so while it's very understandable that people are trying to find ways to make it more convenient for people to vote, it's very likely that Election Day as a national holiday would actually hurt the voters who most need more options," Becker said. Executive director and founder of the Center for Election Innovation & Research David Becker argues that increasing turnout is a nuanced problem that can't be fixed by declaring a holiday. Countries like France, Germany, and India all recognize Election Day as a national holiday or hold elections on the weekend in order to increase voter turnout. The Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) is a group that includes 36 countries. [2] Sundays were for rest and worship, and on Wednesdays farmers typically sold their crops at the market, making Tuesdays the best day of the week. Turning Election Day into a national holiday would instill a sense of pride in all citizens, knowing they have the ability to cast a ballot regardless of work. - Zkon o podmienkach vkonu volebnh", "The Effectiveness of Early Voting A Case Study of the Republic of Korea", "Ley Orgnica 5/1985, de 19 de junio, del Rgimen Electoral General", "Elections in Venezuela and Pennsylvania: Lessons in Democracy? There are some exceptions; as Wednesday was not covered by the available dates, the Netherlands holds elections on Thursday, while Denmark holds elections on Sunday. South Korea and Israel hold theirs during the week, but have made the day a federal holiday. Most others are not so recent, but still not so old: Taiwan's, for example, goes back to a 1911 uprising. It is very, very hard to change core American traditions which Americans see not only as propping up their democracy but perpetuating its legitimacy, he said. In the 2016 election, only 56% of voting-age Americans cast their ballots. Especially given that 65% of Americans support making election day a national holiday and 43% of voters already live in one of the 19 states with some form of voting holiday. The ideal solution is simple: Congress should make Election Day a national holiday, or move Election Day to the weekend. For example, Australia typically has a turnout in the 90 percent or more range, and other nations such as Argentina, Belgium, Brazil, Costa Rica, and Mexico achieve very high turnout via universal voting and time off for voting. From 2021, the first Sunday of June. Read More, Election Day is a holiday in Puerto Rico. In Estonia, a national ID card (required for every citizen in the country) can be used to vote remotely. Updated: 7:01 AM EST November 2, 2020 ATLANTA For many Americans, voting on Election Day is a tradition, and some wonder why it's not a national holiday. Election Day is observed on the first Tuesday after the first Monday in November, taking place on November 7 this year. For more on the debate about making election day a national holiday, visit ProCon.org. Should the United States use the Electoral College in presidential elections? Sign up for notifications from Insider! First published on October 26, 2020 / 10:57 AM. Think about it. procon@eb.com, 2022 Encyclopaedia Britannica, Inc. Some say a holiday would increase voter turnout by enabling more people to vote while celebrating democracy. 26K views, 1.2K likes, 65 loves, 454 comments, 23 shares, Facebook Watch Videos from Citizen TV Kenya: #FridayNight [6] Election Day could be made a holiday if a bill were passed by the House and Senate then signed into law by the president. Not only would making Election Day a federal holiday increase voter turnout among Americans, which is something that politicians and citizens in general complain about often, but it . A large Democratic voting rights bill that would have made Election Day a national holiday collapsed in the Senate this year when two senators refused to join their own party in changing. Furthermore, making this small shift would celebrate the purpose and sacrifice of our fighting forces. Other politicians, businesses, and advocacy groups have voiced their approval of celebrating Election Day as a national holiday. [ 17] Countries such as France, Mexico, and India also observe federal holidays for elections. The US isn't the only developed country that faces this criticism, however. Mail-in voting starts 1 month before polls open. "If I had my way, and I think it is really important, every . But they never go far and die in committee without a vote. Elections are federal holidays in Singapore, which, when combined with mandatory voting, resulted in a voter turnout of 93.6% for the 2015 election of Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong. States such as Georgia and Iowa already have passed restrictive measures and many others appear poised to do the same thing. According to Pew Research data, US voter turnout trails most developed countries. Elections are federal holidays in Singapore, which, when combined with mandatory voting, resulted in a voter turnout of 93.6% for the 2015 election of Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong. Last week his office released a list of voting rights provisions he would support. Others say a holiday would disadvantage low-income and blue collar workers and corporations should have better policies for voting time off. Argentina has instated compulsory voting laws, but only sees about 76% voter turnout. High turnout means that people are successfully exercising their rights-a good in itselfbut it also ensures the continuing health of majority rule. Consider, for example, the national days of France and Germany: the former marks the French revolution, in 1789, and the latter marks the German reunification in 1990. But it is not a federal holiday. Presidential and semipresidential systems, Constituencies: districting and apportionment. Interestingly, 27 of the 36 countries that are members of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (made up largely of advanced democracies) conduct their national elections on the weekend. First Sunday of July until 2018. These numbers also may be indicative of higher turnout for major elections, but may not reflect engagement in local or regional elections. Elections Held on Tuesdays?, britannica.com (accessed Sep. 30, 2019), Evan Andrews, "Election 1010: Why Do We Vote on a Tuesday in November?, history.com, Aug. 31, 2018, Grace Panetta and Olivia Reaney, "Today Is National Voter Registration Day. For more on the debate about making election day a national holiday, visit ProCon.org. For starters, the United States is rather unique in that it schedules its election day on a weekday, let alone a Tuesday. And I think on Election Day we should have a national holiday which says, 'you don't have to rush to vote.' If you make election day a federal holiday, youll have all the people who work in these types of jobs still having to work, being inundated with customers who have the day off and they wont have child care because the schools will be closed, Suzanne Lucas, who previously worked in human resources, wrote in a piece for Inc.com. It is set by statute as "the Tuesday next after the first Monday in the month of November.". It was created in 1992,. The Freedom to Vote Act would make Election Day a national holiday for federal elections, meaning non-essential federal employees would get a paid day off. While the Republican efforts are shrouded in their supposed desire to protect the integrity of elections, there is no evidence of significant voter fraud in recent elections, including presidential election in 2020. Some countries, including Belgium and Turkey, see such high voter turnout mainly because of their compulsory voting laws. Last Tuesday was election day in the United States, and this year we voted in the midterm elections. Election day is a national holiday. For other uses, see. The U.S. lags scores of other countries in election participation, ranking 26th out of 32 nations in the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), according to the Pew. "Election Day National Holiday Top 3 Pros and Cons." "I'm not a fan," said Eddie Perez, an election administration and election technology expert at the Open Source Election Technology (OSET) Institute. In 2005, the American Bar Association looked at a few different methods of voting: in 1989 in Namibia, voters marked an X on ballots using ink on their fingers; in Bulgaria, rather than marking a ballot, voters pick from any number of sheets of paper representing specific political parties and puts it in a ballot box; and in Ireland, "they designate their top three candidates by numbering them 1, 2, and 3." Mr. CHRISTENSEN: One of the biggest countries that uses compulsory voting is Australia. ], [Editors Note: The MLA citation style requires double spacing within entries. However, rules, dates and deadlines vary by state, which can be confusing to some voters. As for Denmark, it has a national liberation day and some people celebrate international worker's day, but neither is a public holiday. Other countries may only require it of certain people, and otherwise make it voluntary for others. [23], Annie McDonald, Editor of the Berkeley Public Policy Journal, noted that the workers who are least likely to get paid holidays are those who already have less of a voice in the political process: Americans working in retail, hospitality, and service jobs, for example, would most likely not receive the benefit of a paid holiday to vote. "And we actually have more options than ever before.". "We already know how to make voting convenient to voters that's by offering them options, like making an election season rather than election day," he said. Whether accurate or not, elected officials likely think that making it easier to vote would advantage one party traditionally it is believed to help the Democrats at the expense of the other party, the GOP, said Vincent Hutchings, a University of Michigan political science professor. Disclaimer: Dates and Events correct at time of printing but may change without our knowledge. What other improvements could be made to voting and Election Day? In 2018, a Pewstudy found that 65% of Americans favored making Election Day a national holiday. Consider the potential benefits and difficulties of changing election day. A number of bills like the Weekend Voting Act have been proposed in Congress over the years, often by Democrats. The U.S. is one of only nine member nations that have weekday voting. South Africa's is from the first democratic elections, in 1994. Opponents say kids arent mature enough to vote. Its hard to say. Arizona, for example, allows employees who do not have three consecutive hours before or after work when the polls are open to take paid time off to vote at the start or end of their work days. [24] Holidays usually mean more work hours for retail workers, because stores run promotions and sales. "[Early and at-home voting] helps prevent bottlenecks for election administrators because it 'flattens the curve' for when ballots are cast by large numbers of voters," Perez said. Vanita Gupta, CEO of the Leadership Conference on Human and Civil Rights, is working to increase voter participation and decrease voter disenfranchisement. Most recently, Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont proposed a bill to designate "Democracy Day" as a national election holiday, which sits before a special committee. Georgias voter suppression bill is an assault on our democracy, Republicans in 48 states have introduced 389 bills, Tracking regulatory changes in the Biden era. Election dates are determined by the General Elections Commission (Indonesian: Typically on a Friday, but precise date set by, Municipal, provincial, and regional elections take place on a Sunday, as do elections for the. However, for the most part, most countries vote in person at the voting booth, and while countries may alter the length of election periods andthe equipment used in voting from election to election, it still tends to have many of the same features. While young people are generally less likely to vote, they are more motivated by the issue of freedom of speech than older generations. An additional day off school would prove to be problematic for individuals who may not have other readily accessible forms of childcare. [24], People who have already suffered significant disenfranchisement, such as women and people of color, are more likely to be working those low-income jobs that wouldnt get the time off to vote even on a national holiday. The name change required at least 50% voter participation, and opponents to the name change advocated not voting at all rather than voting against the measure. US voter turnout trails most developed countries. Research has found that higher trust in the government and democratic process leads to greater voter turnout. He says it's more important to spread voting out over a period of days and methods. Pro/Con Arguments | Discussion Questions | Take Action | Sources | More Debates, Election Day in the United States has occurred on the Tuesday following the first Monday in November ever since President John Tyler signed an 1845 law establishing a specific voting day for the entire country. Of these countries, 27 hold their national elections on a weekend. 27 September (Wednesday): Day of the French-speaking Community - commemorates the victory of the patriots against the Dutch army in Brussels in 1830. In Australia, all citizens of age to vote are required, and if they fail to do so, they face fines. Should Election Day be a national holiday? Elections to the Bundestag may be held on another public holiday. Incidentally, Australia routinely reaches more than 90. [8], Among registered voters in the 2016 US presidential election, being too busy or having a conflicting schedule was the third-highest reason cited for not voting, accounting for 14% of registered voters who did not cast a vote (about 2.7 million people). A 2018 Pew survey found that the majority of Americans (65%) would be in favor of turning Election Day into a national holiday that includes 71% of Democratic-leaning voters and 59% of Republican-leaning voters. Indigenous Peoples Day is a local and state holiday in some parts of the country usually held on Columbus Day that celebrates the cultures of Native Americans. Americans are working all the time. 22 June 1986, 29 October 1989, 6 June 1993, 3 March 1996, 12 March 2000, 14 March 2004, 9 March 2008, 20 November 2011, 20 December 2015, 26 June 2016. Understanding what happened in the Chicago mayoral race. He concluded that having an election holiday, by itself, is not an effective strategy to increase voter turnout. [34], Automatic voter registration, by contrast, could register an additional 22 million people and create 7.9 million new voters nationwide within a year. In a number of states, polling places have been closed in minority neighborhoods, which has created long lines and tremendous inconvenience for affected votersinconvenience with a cost, especially for those paid hourly wages. They stated, Citizen Day would do more than give our democracy the honor that it deserves; it would help our democracy work better. 3. [4][5], The United States currently has 10 national holidays, including Memorial Day, Independence Day, and Christmas Day. Election Day is a US State Holiday observed on several states on the first Tuesday after the first Monday in November every even-numbered year. For rest of the festival holidays the declaration . So the question of how you label Ireland goes back to which holiday you consider its national day. Top editors give you the stories you want delivered right to your inbox each weekday. The earliest possible date that Election Day can fall on is November 2nd, and the latest possible date is November 8th. [ 18][ 19] Con 1 At least 10 dead after winter storm slams South, Midwest, The Saturday Six: Dental device controversy, scientist's bug find and more, Indonesia fuel depot fire kills 18; more than a dozen missing, Biden had cancerous skin lesion removed last month, doctor says, Tom Sizemore, actor known for "Saving Private Ryan" and "Heat," dies at 61, Defense lawyers in Idaho killings case want gag order kept, Alex Murdaugh sentenced to life in prison for murders of wife and son. In India, for example, a polling place is required within two kilometers (about a mile) of every single person in the country of 1.4 billion. Proponents say the Electoral College ensures everyone selects the president. So, workers having a day off to vote wouldn't be a disruption to the economy, or anything a citizen of our country could deny would be worthwhile and smart thing to do. 20, 2018, Annie McDonald, "Ensuring Access to Election Day for All, bppj.berkely.edu, Nov. 6, 2018, Suzanne Lucas, "No, Election Day Should Not Be a Federal Holiday, inc.com, Oct. 24, 2016, Kenneth Quinnell, "Know Your Rights: State Laws on Employee Time off to Vote, aflicio.org, Nov. 5, 2016, Osita Nwanevu, "Maybe Making Election Day a National Holiday Wouldnt Really Work, slate.com, Nov. 3, 2016, Abigail Hess, "A Record 44% of US Employers Will Give Their Workers Paid Time off to Vote This Year, cnbc.com, Oct. 31, 2018, Make Time to Vote, homepage, maketimetovote.org (accessed Sep. 24, 2019), Rose Marcario, "Time to Vote, patagonia.com, Sep. 24, 2018, Danielle Root and Liz Kennedy, "Increasing Voter Participation in America, americanprogress.org, July 11, 2018, Kelly Born, "Increasing Voter Turnout: What, If Anything, Can Be Done?, ssir.org, Apr. Virginia joined these states in April this year. But experts say improving voter turnout is a complicated issue that no single silver bullet strategy can solve. 25, 2016, Chris Talgo, "Make Election Day a National Holiday? Monday in early September. Presented by:Defense Language and National Security Education Office, 60% of the eligible voting population vast a vote, looked at a few different methods of voting. To combat these efforts, lawmakers nationally have introduced HR1 (the John Lewis Act) and S1, which would enact a number of important provisions: improve ballot access, create nonpartisan redistricting commissions to reduce gerrymandering, provide automatic voter registration when people turn 18, allow at least 15 days of early voting,mandate that presidential candidates disclosure their federal tax returns, and require greater disclosure of so-called dark money campaign contributions. More people would vote if they had more time to cast their ballots Furthermore, celebrating our democracy publicly would send the message that we value each others citizenship as much as we value honoring past presidents. [13], Donald Green, PhD, Burgess Professor of Political Science at Columbia University, found that nonpartisan community parties celebrating Election Day in 2005, 2006, and 2016 increased voter participation between 2.6 percentage points and about 4 percentage points. Tuesday was chosen because it was most convenient for farmers traveling by horse and buggy at the time. Why or why not? [14][35] In Australia, where voting is mandatory, elections are celebrated with parties and barbeques nationwide, resulting in turnout rates around 90%. Some say a holiday would increase voter turnout by enabling more people to vote while celebrating democracy. There's nothing that would stop voters here from treating a Democracy Day like just another day off.". Change often comes slowly, subtly. Would making Election Day a federal holiday increase voter turnout and celebrate democracy? And some countries, like Australia, require people to vote by subjecting those who dont to a minor fine equivalent to a traffic ticket. We are the only advanced democracy that makes it deliberately difficult for people to vote. Election Day isn't a national holiday in the US, but some people think it should be. Please refer to the appropriate style manual or other sources if you have any questions. Skip Navigation If so, how? [12], The idea that voting should be a celebration, not a chore is one argument for turning Election Day into a national holiday, according to Archon Fung, PhD, and Jane Mansbridge, PhD, professors at the Harvard Kennedy School. The founding fathers at first only granted white, male property owners the right to vote, so the expansion of voting rights has taken some time. Fourth Sunday of October immediately before the end of the current mandates. 4) The outliers are few but tell you a lot about those countries. Such low voter turnout rates in the United States have various reasons why many Americans decide not to vote, but one main reason is not giving them time to vote and cast their ballots. Explain your answers. Others say a holiday would disadvantage low-income and blue collar workers and corporations should have better policies for voting time off. Here are five reasons why Election Day should be a national holiday. Instead, lawmakers could simply move nearby Veterans Day to Election Day, emphasizing that voting is both a service to the country and a celebration of the rights and freedoms for which our servicemembers fight. Learn how and when to remove this template message, Minister for Housing, Planning and Local Government, 2020 North Macedonian parliamentary election, "THE ELECTORAL CODE OF THE REPUBLIC OF ALBANIA. Without this simple step toward turning out as many Americans as possible to vote, any reform will be incomplete. Congress would shore up the peoples right to vote while guaranteeing the time to engage in this fundamental right. "Election Day as a national holiday would mean things like perhaps reduced schedules for public transportation, schools being closed, hourly workers perhaps being incentivized to work more with time and a half. [20][21][22] A part-time hourly worker is more likely to have multiple jobs, none of which are likely to offer time off for a national holiday.
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