Nine states classify general elections as holidays: Florida, Hawaii, Maryland, Montana, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Rhode Island and Virginia. 26K views, 1.2K likes, 65 loves, 454 comments, 23 shares, Facebook Watch Videos from Citizen TV Kenya: #FridayNight It is the day when popular ballots are held to select public officials. Think about it. 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. [10][11]] A lot of people go to work, or they're in school during the weekday. A cemetery posted a personal ad for a goose whose mate died. For starters, the United States is rather unique in that it schedules its election day on a weekday, let alone a Tuesday. Top editors give you the stories you want delivered right to your inbox each weekday. The outliers are a tiny minority, and only two countries have no formal national day at all. Why or why not? According to Washington Post columnist Ruth Marcus, Australia adopted compulsory voting in 1924 after turnout there dropped to less than 60 percent in 1922. "We should be making it easier for people to vote, not harder. 1. Proponents say the Electoral College ensures everyone selects the president. And there is no better way to secure democracy than to ensure that everyone has not only the right to vote, but also the meaningful opportunity to cast their ballots. All federal elections take place the Tuesday after the first Monday in November. "And we actually have more options than ever before.". In addition to honoring the sacrifices veterans have made, it would remind Americans that voting is a national duty, an obligation both to one another and to the nation; and it would strengthen American democratic political culture, by way of new rituals and traditions, Jill Lepore a Harvard professor of American history wrote in an essay for Politico. 2. 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. To paraphrase one of the commenters on the Reddit thread, is certainly is ironic that the British empire that is indirectly responsible for so many of the world's independence days has no real national day of its own. Voters in more than one-third of the country enjoy some form of an Election Day holiday, according to RepresentUs. 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. The U.S. House of Representatives just passed H.R. 2) Most other countries are shaped by relatively recent revolutions. Others say a holiday would disadvantage low-income and blue collar workers and corporations should have better policies for voting time off. Some countries, about 27 of them,make voting compulsory. 0:00. 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. "[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. Estonia This tiny Baltic nation is making waves for introducing something that seems completely logical in the digital age -- online voting. A surprising map of the worlds national holidays (only two countries have no national day), Belarus sentences Nobel Peace laureate Ales Bialiatski to 10 years in jail, This is Bidens chance to press Scholz on Germanys rearmament, Why Russia and Ukraine are fighting over Bakhmut. 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. Election day or polling day is the day on which general elections are held. Others have suggested making Veterans Day (Nov. 11), which is already a paid national holiday, Election Day. South Korea and Israel hold theirs during the week, but have made the day a federal holiday. Proper citation depends on your preferred or required style manual. 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. Get browser notifications for breaking news, live events, and exclusive reporting. Congress would shore up the peoples right to vote while guaranteeing the time to engage in this fundamental right. Should the United States Use the Electoral College in Presidential Elections? American election laws have been reformed before with minimal impact on voter turnout which remains low compared to other democracies around the world. Presidential and semipresidential systems, Constituencies: districting and apportionment. Access your favorite topics in a personalized feed while you're on the go. Over 60 court cases reviewed the evidence and judgesappointed by both Republican and Democratic presidents alikereached the same conclusion: there was no compelling evidence of fraud. 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. 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. Elections to the Bundestag may be held on another public holiday. Presidential elections are held every four years, in years divisible by four, while the elections to the . That too is a reminder as to how new many of the ideas from that century, such as full enfranchisement and national self-determination, really are. [31][32] Trying one of these alternatives would avoid the negative economic impact of closing businesses for Election Day. 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. [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. Russia's national holiday only goes back to 1992, when the Russian Federation was founded. Let us make it as easy as we can," Sanders told CBS News. https://www.britannica.com/question/Should-election-day-be-made-a-national-holiday. They write new content and verify and edit content received from contributors. Election Day is the day for general elections of public officials in the U.S. As for Denmark, it has a national liberation day and some people celebrate international worker's day, but neither is a public holiday. [25], According to the AFL-CIO, 30 states require employers to allow employees time off for voting. People literally cannot get to the polling booth because it may close at 7 o'clock and they're working later. Vanita Gupta, CEO of the Leadership Conference on Human and Civil Rights, is working to increase voter participation and decrease voter disenfranchisement. 2. [4][5], The United States currently has 10 national holidays, including Memorial Day, Independence Day, and Christmas Day. These numbers also may be indicative of higher turnout for major elections, but may not reflect engagement in local or regional elections. Others say a holiday would disadvantage low-income and blue collar workers and corporations should have better policies for voting time off. [14][35] In Australia, where voting is mandatory, elections are celebrated with parties and barbeques nationwide, resulting in turnout rates around 90%. By comparison, Belgium reported the highest OECD voter turnout: 87.2% in the most recent national election. Read more: The evolution of American voting rights in 242 years shows how far we've come and how far we still have to go. Skip Navigation Issues also arise when a persons polling place is far from their workplace or when there are long lines to vote during peak times like in the morning before work or in the evening after work. Even among the nine weekday voting countries, South Korea's and Israel's voters take a day off work on the day of the election to ensure higher electoral participation. The pros and cons of the felon voting debate include arguments about the social contract, voting while in prison, and paying debts. Veterans Day typically is about one week after Election Day so this would involve little disruption in terms of job schedules and monthly routines. [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. Countries that have weekend or holiday elections do tend to have better turnout overall. In many other democracies around the world, national elections are held on the weekend or are a federal holiday. "Voting is a fundamental right,. Japan formally celebrates the anniversary of an ancient mythical emperor, although the holiday is mostly ignored today, due in part to its connections with Japan's ugly imperial history. Election Day is a state holiday in Delaware, Hawaii, Kentucky, Indiana, Maryland, Michigan, New Jersey, Rhode Island, and New York. Some say a holiday would increase voter turnout by enabling more people to vote while celebrating democracy. 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. However, those numbers may be attributed to a combination of factors not solely because their elections occur on non-work days. "While this would not be a cure-all, it would indicate a national commitment to create a more vibrant democracy.". 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. For more on the debate about making election day a national holiday, visit ProCon.org. by country by date Rather than make it a national holiday where inevitably people will still have to work, change election day to election week. Other countries take heroic efforts to ensure that people can vote if they desire. 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. Here are the four things I found interesting about this once as I mapped it out: 1) Yes, most of the world was shaped by colonialism. Roughly 138 million Americans voted in the 2016 presidential election, just 61.4% of the 214,109,360 million who were registered to vote, according to The U.S. Election Assistance Commission. 3. As you can see, the world is mostly divided between countries that celebrate a national independence day and countries that celebrate a national unification or revolution day. 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. Some say a holiday would increase voter turnout by enabling more people to vote while celebrating democracy. The US ranks 26th out of 32 for voter turnout among Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) countries. However, making National Election Day a holiday will disadvantage low-income and blue . Vote.org has called on Amazon, Disney, McDonald's and others to offer paid time off for employees to vote and or work the polls. Most National Days are fixed, exceptions to this are shown below. Mail-in voting starts 1 month before polls open. 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. It is very, very hard to change core American traditions.. Passing voting rights reform will be a crucial component of this response, as would making Election Day a national holiday. Declaring Election Day a holiday has been proposed various times in Congress; it's a popular idea. Early voting for the midterms varies by state. Please refer to the appropriate style manual or other sources if you have any questions. Before that point, states could hold their presidential elections on any day within a certain 34-day window. 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. In Thailand, one of the very few countries outside of Europe that was never formally colonized, the king's birthday is celebrated (don't insult him or you might go to jail, per the lese majeste laws). 2023 BuzzFeed, Inc. All rights reserved. By clicking Sign up, you agree to receive marketing emails from Insider Keep in mind that in the mid-1800s, the U.S. was largely an agricultural society. Some countries use electronic voting machines, such as India, while others rely on paper ballots, such as Zimbabwe. 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." Elections Project, which is close to the complete voter . The bill has no cosponsors, but the concept was supported by every 2020 Democratic candidate for president, excluding Mike Bloomberg and now-nominee Joe Biden. 1. Take, for example, Bhutan, which every celebrates the anniversary of Ugyen Wangchuck's 1907 election as the nation's first hereditary king (yes, you read that correctly), but not its 1949 independence. 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. Most National Days are fixed, exceptions to this are shown below. 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. What other improvements could be made to voting and Election Day? 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. Reformers will be far more successful adding a few days or options or opportunities than trying to undo Election Day.. October 26, 2020 / 10:57 AM Concentrating voters into a single day risks congesting polling places, even more so than some already are. And. 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. 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. Of the nonvoters surveyed by the US Census Bureau about the 2008 presidential election, the 2012 presidential election, and numerous other elections, the most commonly cited reason for not voting was being too busy or having conflicting work schedules. ], ProCon.org, "Election Day National Holiday Top 3 Pros and Cons,", ProCon.org, "Election Day National Holiday Top 3 Pros and Cons. So the question of how you label Ireland goes back to which holiday you consider its national day. Some businesses may close, but their hourly paid employees will either have to use a PTO day or not get paid.. Plus, some experts say moving to weekend voting could substantially increase the cost of running elections. Traditionally elections are held over two days, starting on a Friday afternoon and ending the following Saturday afternoon. Elections to the European Parliament take place over a period of four days (i.e., Thursday through to Sunday), according to the election days of the EU members states (as listed above). Without this simple step toward turning out as many Americans as possible to vote, any reform will be incomplete. Proponents say teens are knowledgeable enough to vote. 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%. Other politicians, businesses, and advocacy groups have voiced their approval of celebrating Election Day as a national holiday. [7] A handful of states have made election day a state holiday, including New York, Hawaii, Kentucky, and, in Apr. 4. Most of these 19 states' policies only cover general elections, though. Israel and South Korea hold their elections on weekdays, but they're national holidays. Sweden came second with 82.6%. Because the impact of a federal holiday is far-reaching, many states and workplaces would likely follow suit. Not all of these marked the end of colonialism (for example, Austria's signifies the withdrawal of foreign militaries after World War II and the declaration of neutrality) but the vast majority do. Modern life operates around the clock. [1], An election day usually culminates in an election night when the results of the election are tallied and winners are announced.[2]. I'll look into this some more and may change it on the map. In fact, in Estonia, the option tovoteonlineis becoming increasingly popular. No: Too Inconvenient, Early-Voting Options Ample, orlandosentinel.com, Nov. 5, 2018, Henry Farber, "Increasing Voter Turnout: Is Democracy Day the Answer?, princeton.edu, Feb. 2009, Sarah Issenberg, "The Mystery of the Puerto Rico Voter, slate.com, Jan. 27, 2012, Paul LeBlanc, "Virginia Governor Makes Election Day a Holiday and Expands Early Voting,". It would give people time to vote. [26] Creating laws in all states that let people vote before or after work would be more effective than a national holiday, which would quickly be viewed as just another day off to enjoy. 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. Managing Editor Its hard to say. Incidentally, Australia routinely reaches more than 90. OK, so why Tuesday? 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. ", Others, however, are skeptical that creating a national holiday would increase voter turnout. Yet, few of us, especially those who have worked on Capitol Hill, harbor . [18][19], Federal law doesnt require private employers to give employees paid federal holidays. And the empire has been pretty consistently breaking apart over the last half century Scotland is maybe next so it's not like there is a national unification to celebrate. While some states have made Election Day a civic holiday (though it primarily applies to public workers) and most have laws that require companies to give employees some time off to vote, none of the legislative efforts to enact these changes on a national level have been successful. Countries that hold the ballot before Sunday are not permitted to announce results until all other countries have finished voting. There's nothing that would stop voters here from treating a Democracy Day like just another day off.". Election Day in the United States is the annual day for general elections of federal public officials.It is statutorily set by the U.S. government as "the Tuesday next after the first Monday in November", i.e. [24] Holidays usually mean more work hours for retail workers, because stores run promotions and sales. [31]. 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. 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. the Tuesday that occurs within November 2 to November 8. Start the discussion over on our Facebook page, and let us know about civic engagement in your town, state, or country! First Sunday of July until 2018. Because Saturday and Sunday are Sabbath days for devout Jews and Christians, elections would probably have to be held over the two-day period creating a need for more poll workers and a process for securing ballots overnight, Victoria Shineman, a University of Pittsburgh political science professor, wrote in The Washington Post. 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. In some states where they don't have mail-in ballots, voting can take a lot of time out of the 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. Twenty-seven of the 36 member countries, hold their elections on the weekend. Compared to other developed countries, America's voter turnout rate is pretty sad.