Last week his office released a list of voting rights provisions he would support. One major reason: It comes down to tradition, Troy said. So when faced with choices like having to take unpaid time off work to vote, waking at the wee hours of the morning to vote so that they're not late to work, standing in hours-long lines with everyone else who waited until after the workday to cast their ballot, or simply not voting at all, many choose the latter. Given this, an Election Day holiday would remove a significant barrier to participation for relatively well-to-do potential voters while doing little to make voting easier for a significant. Accessed February 21, 2023. https://www.procon.org/headlines/election-day-national-holiday-top-3-pros-and-cons/, potential benefits and difficulties of changing election day, election day should not be a national holiday. And in Australia, there is a fine. By entering your email and clicking Sign Up, you're agreeing to let us send you customized marketing messages about us and our advertising partners. Runoffs take place on the last Sunday of the same October. [14][35] In Australia, where voting is mandatory, elections are celebrated with parties and barbeques nationwide, resulting in turnout rates around 90%. Update: Some readers think that Ireland should also be considered an outlier, as St. Patrick's Day is often considered its primary "national day" and is not really an independence or revolution day. But while . 1, which adds a new paid holiday for federal employees every other year. The ideal solution is simple: Congress should make Election Day a national holiday, or move Election Day to the weekend. Sign up for notifications from Insider! The answer dates back to 1845, when Congress passed a law declaring that federal elections would be held on the first Tuesday after the first Monday in November. 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. By clicking Sign up, you agree to receive marketing emails from Insider These changes would send a strong rebuke to those who are attempting to scale back voting rights and make it more difficult for African-Americans and Latinos to vote. While the majority of US states have voter leave laws that guarantee certain employees a modicum of time off to vote, no federal law currently mandates that employees get time off to cast their ballots. In the 2016 presidential election, 60% of the eligible voting population vast a vote; this year, a staggering 47.5%participated in the midterms, compared to 37% in 2014 and 41% in 2010, the years of other midterm elections. [24] Holidays usually mean more work hours for retail workers, because stores run promotions and sales. 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. Currently, 22 countries around the world have mandatory voting, and ten of those countries enforce the policy, including Australia, Brazil, Belgium, Peru, and Switzerland. And. 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. History of Election Day 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. It would give people time to vote. But in many other countries, the government automatically registers voters and holds elections on days that are weekend days or national holidays. If your thoughts have not changed, list two to three ways your better understanding of the other side of the issue now helps you better argue your position. 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. First Sunday of July until 2018. In some states where they don't have mail-in ballots, voting can take a lot of time out of the day. There is a "need to make voting more accessible, to make it more of a civic duty, to make sure that people don't have to choose between their job and their ability to cast the ballot are issues that are more prominent today than ever before," she told CBS News. [25], According to the AFL-CIO, 30 states require employers to allow employees time off for voting. Do you think it's time for the US to follow their lead? 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. Explain your answer. But they never go far and die in committee without a vote. 4) The outliers are few but tell you a lot about those . 2 men found drugged after leaving NYC gay bars were killed, medical examiner says, Battleground Tracker: Tight race in Florida, Georgia, North Carolina, Lindsey Graham appears before Georgia grand jury, House Jan. 6 committee is having conversations with Justice Department, Georgia grand jury investigating Trump wants testimony from Giuliani, Graham, Trump election interference grand jury to hear from Raffensperger, DHS IG says Wolf changed intel report on Russian interference in 2020. Some countries use electronic voting machines, such as India, while others rely on paper ballots, such as Zimbabwe. Today in my country it is a national holiday as we celebrate the day when St. Paul converted our whole country to Catholicism in AD 60. Right now, federal elections are always held on Tuesdays, because farmers in the 1840s needed multiple days to get to the . [1], An election day usually culminates in an election night when the results of the election are tallied and winners are announced.[2]. 4) The outliers are few but tell you a lot about those countries. However, making National Election Day a holiday will disadvantage low-income and blue . "[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. Because of the pandemic, more U.S. voters are exploring alternatives to voting on Election Day, such as early voting and mail-in voting. Pew also found that certain issues motivate voters more than others: "health care, poverty and education are the top motivators for political engagement." Voter turnout in the U.S. is generally quite low, trailing behind that of other developed democracies around the world, according to another Pew study. For example, in Ecuador, only literate citizens between 18 and 65 are required to vote; those over 65 or who are not literateare not required. In 2018, the general election was held on Wednesday. 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. Read More, Election Day is a holiday in Puerto Rico. The COVID-19 pandemic convinced. ProCon/Encyclopaedia Britannica, Inc. Additionally, many of these individuals rely on school days as childcare for their children. 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. 26 th January (Republic Day), 15 th August (Independence Day) and 2 nd October (Gandhi Jayanti). They stated, Citizen Day would do more than give our democracy the honor that it deserves; it would help our democracy work better. The US ranks 26th out of 32 for voter turnout among Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) countries. [4][5], The United States currently has 10 national holidays, including Memorial Day, Independence Day, and Christmas Day. Here are the proper bibliographic citations for this page according to four style manuals (in alphabetical order): [Editor's Note: The APA citation style requires double spacing within entries. 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. This is partially due to the influence of Protestantism, which historically set restrictions on activities other than church-going during the Sabbath (usually considered as falling on a Sunday). According to the country's website detailing their "digital society," online voting has soared from 1.9% in 2005 to 30.5% in 2015. Even people youd expect to know, like politicians, have been stumped by this very question. Managing Editor Change often comes slowly, subtly. Four more states only provide time off for biennial, even-year elections: Delaware, Louisiana, Michigan and New Hampshire. Sometimes, specific ballot measures can influence voter turnout: in the UK, the Brexit vote resulted in a 72% turnout, slightly higher than the average of 69%. 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. Of these countries, 27 hold their national elections on a weekend. ABUJA, Nigeria -- Nigeria's election commission announced the first results late Sunday from the country's closely watched presidential election, but it could days . [31][32] Trying one of these alternatives would avoid the negative economic impact of closing businesses for Election Day. By comparison, Belgium reported the highest OECD voter turnout: 87.2% in the most recent national election. Copyright 2023 CBS Interactive Inc. All rights reserved. Its hard to say. This page was last edited on 1 February 2023, at 18:43. 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. Keep in mind that in the mid-1800s, the U.S. was largely an agricultural society. Maybe that could give us some hint as to the frequent foreign sensitivities and accusations, right or wrong, about Western foreign policy echoing old colonial practices. These changes would send the message that voting is not a privilege to be bought with job security and time to spare, but rather an essential responsibility every person ought to undertake. However, rules, dates and deadlines vary by state, which can be confusing to some voters. Whether election day in the United States should be made a national holiday is debated. The number of early votes cast before Election Day 2020, as of Nov. 1, neared the 100 million mark according to data aggregated by the U.S. Monday in early September. Part of HuffPost Home & Living. Without this simple step toward turning out as many Americans as possible to vote, any reform will be incomplete. Election day is a national holiday. "Election Day really definitely does need to be a holiday," she said, adding, "We need to be able to have everybody feel like they have a great stake in it.". In some of these countries, voting is compulsory, and in most of them, Election Day is a holiday. Australia sees around 91%, and 94% in Singapore. 2. While no state has proposed reinstating the literacy tests, poll taxes, and grandfather clauses that effectively ended the burst of African-American franchise during Reconstruction, todays efforts to disenfranchise minority voters are similarly unsubtle. Whether election day should be made a national holiday is debated. By law, polling day is a public holiday if it falls on a weekday. 12, 2019, Ceylan Pumphrey, "Do Businesses Have to Give Federal Holidays Like Presidents Day Off?, blogs.findlaw.com, Feb. 14, 2018, Department of Labor, "Holiday Pay, dol.gov (accessed Sep. 23, 2019), Peggy Emch, "Is Holiday Pay Required by Law?, timesheets.com, 2013, Fast Casual, "Study: Why Hourly Workers Forced to Work Multiple Jobs, fastcasual.com, Apr. Other politicians, businesses, and advocacy groups have voiced their approval of celebrating Election Day as a national holiday. This article was published more than10 years ago. ", ProCon.org. Regional Belgian public holidays during 2023. John M. Cunningham, "Why Are U.S. 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. Let us make it as easy as we can," Sanders told CBS News. However, those numbers may be attributed to a combination of factors not solely because their elections occur on non-work days. It is very, very hard to change core American traditions.. For federal offices (president, vice president, and United States Congress) and most gubernatorial offices (all except for . Holidays, law.cornell.edu (accessed Sep. 30, 2019), Matthew Haag, "Mitch McConnell Calls Push to Make Election Day a Holiday a Democratic Power Grab," nytimes.com, Jan. 31, 2019, Drew DeSilver, "U.S. Trails Most Developed Countries in Voter Turnout, pewresearch.org, May 21, 2018, Gustavo Lpez and Antonio Flores, "Dislike of Candidates or Campaign Issues Was Most Common Reason for Not Voting in 2016, pewresearch.org, June 1, 2017, Beau C. Tremitiere, "Election Day Should Be a National Holiday, cnbc.com, July 5, 2016, York Dispatch Editorial Board, "Editorial: On Voting, GOP Takes a Holiday from its Senses, yorkdispatch.com, Feb. 1, 2019, Tacey Rychter, "How Compulsory Voting Works: Australians Explain," nytimes.com, Nov. 5, 2018, Archon Fung and Jane Mansbridge, "Lets Vote, Party and Celebrate American Democracy on a New Holiday Called Citizen Day, usatoday.com, Oct. 26, 2018, Thomas MacMillan, "This Might Be the Best Idea for Turning out More Voters in U.S. Elections, nymag.com, July 8, 2017, Drew Desilver, "Weekday Elections Set the U.S. apart from Many Other Advanced Democracies, pewresearch.org, Nov. 6, 2018, Kathy Frankovic, "St. Patricks Day Not So Popular - Americans Would Rather Election Day a Holiday, today.yougov.com, Mar. Election Day is not a national holiday in 2022, but some states require employees get paid time off to vote. Unlike Singapore, South Korea and Israel, Canada has not declared election days as public holidays. All 435 representatives were up for re-election, as well as a third ofsenators, and countless elections for governors, mayors, state legislators, and local government across the country. The Freedom to Vote Act would make Election Day a national holiday. Martin Luther King Jr. Day Washington's Birthday Memorial Day Flag Day Independence Day Constitution Day Election Day Veterans Day Bill of Rights Day Martin Luther King Jr. Day Martin Luther King, Jr. Day takes place on third Monday of January each year, near the time of Dr. King's birthday on January 15th. President Obama likes the idea of changing the way or the day Americans vote. A number of bills like the Weekend Voting Act have been proposed in Congress over the years, often by Democrats. Opponents say it allows only a few states to select the president. Countries that have weekend or holiday elections do tend to have better turnout overall. High turnout means that people are successfully exercising their rights-a good in itselfbut it also ensures the continuing health of majority rule. Democratic rights are much easier to end than they are to restore, so the federal government must respond to the wave of voter suppression overtaking the states with decisive, expansive action. 3. These efforts challenge fundamental values of American democracy and constitute a serious threat to the one person, one vote principle. 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. With those options early in-person voting and more voter awareness on how to vote by mail voter turnout appears to be trending upward. Before that point, states could hold their presidential elections on any day within a certain 34-day window. Election day or polling day is the day on which general elections are held. Newsweek subscription offers > "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. 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. NOW WATCH: Arianna Huffingtons advice to Hillary Clinton, the majority of US states have voter leave laws, You can take time off from work to vote in 30 states here's the full list, voted during the 2016 presidential election, experts say such a scheme is unlikely to fly in the US, The evolution of American voting rights in 242 years shows how far we've come and how far we still have to go, In an interview with President Barack Obama in 2016. While young people are generally less likely to vote, they are more motivated by the issue of freedom of speech than older generations. 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.

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