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. As for Denmark, it has a national liberation day and some people celebrate international worker's day, but neither is a public holiday. It is very, very hard to change core American traditions.. Granderson: Why aren't Democrats making election day a state holiday Election results only announced for 1 of Nigeria's 36 states ProCon/Encyclopaedia Britannica, Inc. Because of the pandemic, more U.S. voters are exploring alternatives to voting on Election Day, such as early voting and mail-in voting. The ideal solution is simple: Congress should make Election Day a national holiday, or move Election Day to the weekend. 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. [3] In 1800, 83% of the American labor force was agrarian, but today only 11% of total US employment is agriculture-related. Right now, federal elections are always held on Tuesdays, because farmers in the 1840s needed multiple days to get to the . Delaware, Hawaii, Kentucky, Indiana, Maryland, Michigan, New Jersey, Rhode Island and New York have also made Election Day into a state holiday. 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." That means the stock market will be open, and so will. Should People Who Have Completed Felony Sentences Be Allowed to Vote? Office Holidays provides calendars with dates and information on public holidays and bank holidays in key countries around the world. Should Election Day be a national holiday? Veterans Day typically is about one week after Election Day so this would involve little disruption in terms of job schedules and monthly routines. President Obama likes the idea of changing the way or the day Americans vote. 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. This is the day we cast ballots to select public officials from local to the national government. Countries which permit absentee ballots, early ballots or postal votes to be cast by mail before the election avoid the problem altogether by enabling voters to vote on a day that is more convenient to them. However, those numbers may be attributed to a combination of factors not solely because their elections occur on non-work days. Election Day should be a 'day off,' U.S. President Joe Biden says ], [Editors Note: The MLA citation style requires double spacing within entries. By Monday morning, nearly 60 million had already voted early across the country, closing in on half of 2016's total voter turnout. National and Festival Holiday Act, which is applicable to all establishments in the country, irrespective of under which law it is formed it is mandatory to grant leave on following 3 days, i.e. 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. Proponents say teens are knowledgeable enough to vote. Election Day is observed on the first Tuesday after the first Monday in November, taking place on November 7 this year. 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). Is Election Day a national holiday? Why you don't get the day off Explain your answers. Is Election Day a national holiday? Why you don't get the day off A simple but effective change, however, could be made in election timing. The Freedom to Vote Act would make Election Day a national holiday. Americans are working all the time. Election Day is already a holiday for state employees in more than a dozen states including Kentucky, Michigan, and New York. November 7, 2023. Why Election Day Isn't a National Holiday in the US - Business Insider Its hard to say. 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. Sweden came second with 82.6%. Election Day is a state holiday in Delaware, Hawaii, Kentucky, Indiana, Maryland, Michigan, New Jersey, Rhode Island, and New York. Is Election Day a Federal Holiday? - Newsweek Delaware Hawaii Kentucky Louisiana Montana New Jersey New York Ohio Puerto Rico Virginia West Virginia While Tuesdays have been custom for elections in the United States, Sunday is the day of. "We should be making it easier for people to vote, not harder. For other uses, see. The U.S. ranks 26th out of 32 for voter among Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development countries. Before that point, states could hold their presidential elections on any day within a certain 34-day window. / CBS News. 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. Yet, few of us, especially those who have worked on Capitol Hill, harbor . 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. But these days, Tuesdays are actually quite inconvenient for many Americans, particularly those who cant take time off work to cast their ballots a problem that disproportionately affects Black, Latino and lower-income voters. a list of voting rights provisions he would support. Omissions? "Election Day National Holiday Top 3 Pros and Cons." ProCon.org is the institutional or organization author for all ProCon.org pages. - 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? In many countries, general elections are always held on a Saturday or Sunday, to enable as many voters as possible to participate; while in other countries elections are always held on a weekday. Mail-in voting starts 1 month before polls open. Third Monday of October every four years, or after Parliament is dissolved by the. The types of workers least likely to reap the benefits of a federal holiday are those who already struggle to vote, Shineman noted. 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. And in Australia, there is a fine. With those options early in-person voting and more voter awareness on how to vote by mail voter turnout appears to be trending upward. Where is Election Day a holiday? - The Fulcrum Elections to the Bundestag may be held on another public holiday. Presidential and semipresidential systems, Constituencies: districting and apportionment. A National Day is a date for a country to celebrate its nationhood. Make Election Day a national holiday - Brookings Consider how you felt about the issue before reading this article. 14, 2019, BBC, "Singapore Election: Governing Party Secure Decisive Win, bbc.com, Sep. 12, 2015, Holly Jackson, "It's Time to Make Election Day a Holiday in Law and Spirit," washingtonpost.com, Oct. 22, 2018, BCP Associates, "India Elections 2019 - Declaration of Paid Holiday on Polling Day, bcpassociates.com, Apr. Operated 24:7 through the week. 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,". All federal elections take place the Tuesday after the first Monday in November. [ 18][ 19] Con 1 In an interview published Thursday, President Obama endorsed the idea of holding U.S. federal elections on weekends or national holidays. Establishing Election Day as a holiday, taken together with the pending federal voting rights reforms, would go a long way towards stabilizing democracy and ensuring basic democratic rights. "[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. Understanding what happened in the Chicago mayoral race. While countries like Belgium, Sweden, and Turkey saw more than 80% of their estimated voting-age population cast votes in recent elections, less than 56% of the estimated voting-age population. Election day or polling day is the day on which general elections are held. 3. WASHINGTON, June 24 (Reuters) - Election Day should be a holiday for workers in the United States, President Joe Biden said on Thursday. It's Time to Make Election Day a National Holiday (Once - HuffPost Why Election Day Should Be A National Holiday In America 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. 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. People literally cannot get to the polling booth because it may close at 7 o'clock and they're working later. There's nothing that would stop voters here from treating a Democracy Day like just another day off.". Think about that: In most of the world, the sense of national identity is shaped by the act of cutting, or in some cases violently throwing off, the chains of colonialism. 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. Read More, Election Day is a holiday in Puerto Rico. Where Is Election Day a Holiday? - Ms. Magazine [14][35] In Australia, where voting is mandatory, elections are celebrated with parties and barbeques nationwide, resulting in turnout rates around 90%. 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. The U.S. is one of only nine member nations that have weekday voting. A lot of people go to work, or they're in school during the weekday. But none of those states have considerably high turnout compared to those where it isn't a holiday. 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. Australia sees around 91%, and 94% in Singapore. 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 Research Center. Should the United States use the Electoral College in presidential elections? After all, what do our veterans fight for, if not for democracy itself? [17] Countries such as France, Mexico, and India also observe federal holidays for elections. Estonia is the only country to fully adopt online voting, but other countries, such as Australia, Canada, and Norway, have looked into pursuing it as an option in the future. 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. But Gupta said that there's been a "lack of political will" to give the initiative some momentum. For more on the debate about making election day a national holiday, visit ProCon.org. [1], Over time, voting rights expanded from only white, male landowners age 21 and older to include women and people of color, as well as citizens age 18 and up, resulting in a dramatic increase in the voting-eligible population and a shift in voter demographics. Newsela | Should Election Day become a national holiday? 1, which adds a new paid holiday for federal employees every other year. Is Election Day a Federal Holiday? - NBC Chicago ", ProCon.org. Proper citation depends on your preferred or required style manual. Last Tuesday was election day in the United States, and this year we voted in the midterm elections. Common reasons for a certain day are the date on which a state or country achieved its independence, or the date of the country's patron saint day. Some say a holiday would increase voter turnout by enabling more people to vote while celebrating democracy. Access your favorite topics in a personalized feed while you're on the go. Today in my country it is a national holiday as we celebrate the day In the US, Election Day is not a national holiday. Sign up to receive a weekly email update on forthcoming public holidays around the world in your inbox every Sunday. Is Election Day a national holiday? These people think it should be Why Isn't Election Day A National Holiday In The United States? - HuffPost ], ProCon.org, "Election Day National Holiday Top 3 Pros and Cons,", ProCon.org, "Election Day National Holiday Top 3 Pros and Cons. We also know that countries that have marked their election days as federal events see higher voting turnouts than the United States. Topics Explainers Politics US Evergreen US Explainers YOU MIGHT LIKE CBS News reporter covering climate change and energy. Countries like Argentina, Belgium, Brazil, Costa Rica, and Mexico also showed high voter turnout rates by having holidays. 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. Election Day should be a national holiday - The GW Hatchet Georgia grassroots groups helped Biden win. [1] The decision was made taking into account farmers, a large portion of the voting constituency at the time, who would not have been able to travel to polling places in winter months or during planting or harvest times. "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. According to the country's website detailing their "digital society," online voting has soared from 1.9% in 2005 to 30.5% in 2015. 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. 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. And even if it were a federal holiday, that wouldn't ensure that all voting-age Americans would have the day off. "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. 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. 27 September (Wednesday): Day of the French-speaking Community - commemorates the victory of the patriots against the Dutch army in Brussels in 1830. While every effort has been made to follow citation style rules, there may be some discrepancies. And I think on Election Day we should have a national holiday which says, 'you don't have to rush to vote.' Presidential elections are held every four years, in years divisible by four, while the elections to the . Why Election Day is on a Tuesday in November in the U.S. | Pew Research "And we actually have more options than ever before.". - Vincent Hutchings, a University of Michigan political science professor, - Gil Troy, American presidential historian, 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, Joaquin Corbalan / EyeEm via Getty Images, as travel and communication improved in the 19th century, being too busy or having a conflicting schedule, Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, substantially increase the cost of running elections, move that would make it easier for Americans to vote, The types of workers least likely to reap the benefits. Rose Marcario, CEO, stated, demonstrating your companys commitment to voting will reinforce how essential it is that every eligible voter shows up. $4+ Billion Cost To Give Federal Employees A New Paid Holiday - Forbes The COVID-19 pandemic convinced. List of national independence days - Wikipedia First Sunday of October. As of mid-May Republicans in 48 states have introduced 389 bills that would reduce the hours polls are open; forbid people from eating or drinking while waiting in line to vote; close voter registration on Sundays, when Black churches traditionally have organized their members to register and vote; repeal no excuse absentee voting; and create a long list of other barriers to voting. [1], An election day usually culminates in an election night when the results of the election are tallied and winners are announced.[2]. Why are other countries better at conducting elections than we are? Rather than make it a national holiday where inevitably people will still have to work, change election day to election week. 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. 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 National Holiday - Top 3 Pros and Cons - ProCon.org Additionally, many of these individuals rely on school days as childcare for their children. This map, inspired by a Reddit thread with a similar map, shows the national days of the world's countries. American election laws have been reformed before with minimal impact on voter turnout which remains low compared to other democracies around the world. [26] Caravanas are joyful, noisy parades of cars festooned with flags and other decorations that stream through Puerto Ricos streets ahead of an election and are credited with the islands over 80% voter turnout. 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. History of Election Day Usually Wednesday. [27], Companies including Abercrombie & Fitch Co., Farmers Insurance, Kaiser Permanente, Patagonia, and Walmart have joined Make Time to Vote campaign, which encourages employers to provide paid time off, schedule no meetings on Election Day, and give information on mail-in ballots and early voting. 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. 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. I'll look into this some more and may change it on the map. Here is the relevant passage from Acts 28: [28][29], Patagonia, an outdoor clothing retailer, paused operation on Nov. 6, 2018 so that all employees could vote. 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. Should Election Day Be a Holiday? - The Atlantic Election Day is not a national holiday in 2022, but some states require employees get paid time off to vote. To look through the stats for voter turnout for other countries, you can visit the website for the International Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance (IDEA) and explore the data. COLUMN: Point Counterpoint: There are pros and cons to making Election (And in case youre curious, November was chosen as the month for similar reasons: It was after fall harvest was over but before the cold winter weather set in.). In the 2016 election, only 56% of voting-age Americans cast their ballots. In Sweden, for example, 83% of registered voters participated in the 2014 national . Proponents say the Electoral College ensures everyone selects the president. Essential reporting and analysis from correspondents around the world. A Pew Research Center analysis finds that 27 of the 36 member countries of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development hold their national elections on the weekend, . At the top of his list: making Election Day a national holiday.

Krista Davis Obituary, Kevin O'connor Actor Death, Jobs With Housing Provided California, Lausd Fender Spring Program, Ackworth School Alumni, Articles C