Part of HuffPost Home & Living. Americans are working all the time. [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. Opponents say kids arent mature enough to vote. The Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) is a group that includes 36 countries. Congress would shore up the peoples right to vote while guaranteeing the time to engage in this fundamental right. 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. Hailey said the country needs a "cultural shift" to prioritize voting. The U.S. House of Representatives just passed H.R. [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. Think about it. Here are five reasons why Election Day should be a national holiday. Israel and South Korea hold their elections on weekdays, but they're national holidays. Tuesday is Election Day, but only in some parts of the country will voters get the day off to cast their ballots. Sunday: the second Sunday of March for Congress, and the second Sunday of May for President and Vice President. 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. 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. However, the issues vary among different demographic groups. Consider the potential benefits and difficulties of changing election day. Top editors give you the stories you want delivered right to your inbox each weekday. [25], According to the AFL-CIO, 30 states require employers to allow employees time off for voting. 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. Even people youd expect to know, like politicians, have been stumped by this very question. Push for the position and policies you support by writing US national senators and representatives. Most National Days are fixed, exceptions to this are shown below. According to Pew Research data, US voter turnout trails most developed countries. Currently, 22 countries around the world have mandatory voting, and ten of those countries enforce the policy, including Australia, Brazil, Belgium, Peru, and Switzerland. 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. Countries that hold the ballot before Sunday are not permitted to announce results until all other countries have finished voting. 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. Incidentally, Australia routinely reaches more than 90 percent voter turnout, compared to the United States, where average voter turnout in presidential elections since 1965 has been only 54%. 1, which adds a new paid holiday for federal employees every other year. Delaware, Hawaii, Kentucky, Indiana, Maryland, Michigan, New Jersey, Rhode Island and New York have also made Election Day into a state holiday. ", "An overall look at Vietnam's election law", https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Election_day&oldid=1136894393. 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. Modern life operates around the clock. 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. Third Monday of October every four years, or after Parliament is dissolved by the. [4][5], The United States currently has 10 national holidays, including Memorial Day, Independence Day, and Christmas Day. According to the Pew Research Center, of the thirty-six nations in the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), the U.S. is one of nine that votes on a week day, and one of seven that doesn't designateelection day a national holiday. In 2007, the country held the world's first general Internet election. Rose Marcario, CEO, stated, demonstrating your companys commitment to voting will reinforce how essential it is that every eligible voter shows up. It's amazing how much of the map is green, indicating countries that celebrate a national independence day every year. This article was published more than10 years ago. [14][35] In Australia, where voting is mandatory, elections are celebrated with parties and barbeques nationwide, resulting in turnout rates around 90%. Sunday. 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.However, some countries, or regions within a country, which hold elections on a weekday declare election day a public holiday. I am from Malta - a tiny EU island nation and today we celebrate the shipwreck of St. Paul on our island. But experts say improving voter turnout is a complicated issue that no single silver bullet strategy can solve. Until 2009, elections were held over several consecutive Sundays. Operated 24:7 through the week. 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. While young people are generally less likely to vote, they are more motivated by the issue of freedom of speech than older generations. In Estonia, a national ID card (required for every citizen in the country) can be used to vote remotely. 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. [9], Former Editor-in-Chief of the Northwestern University Law Review, Beau C. Tremitiere, JD, stated, The demands of school and work schedules keep millions of Americans, especially those with children or long commutes, from ever getting to their polling stations The ideal solution is simple: Congress should make Election Day a national holiday, or move Election Day to the weekend. [10] A holiday would allow more citizens volunteer at polling places or drive the elderly to vote, and make a difference in states where long lines at the polls keep voters waiting for hours. Election Day is already a holiday for state employees in more than a dozen states including Kentucky, Michigan, and New York. Should Election Day be a national holiday? Politicians, most recently House Democrats in 2019, have also floated the idea of turning a weekday Election Day into a federal holiday, but to no avail. [15] Israel and South Korea make national elections a holiday to avoid economic hardship for voters. 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. [8][15] A holiday for elections sidesteps the issue of a weekend election, which could conflict with religious obligations. Proper citation depends on your preferred or required style manual. Will the party listen to them on the issues? For starters, the United States is rather unique in that it schedules its election day on a weekday, let alone a Tuesday. The U.S. is one of only nine member nations that have weekday voting. 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. 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. Understanding what happened in the Chicago mayoral race. "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.". It would also blunt the impact of many of these baldly anti-democratic movesopening the doors to the house as Republicans attempt to shut the windows. Lists national days around the world by country or date. Chicago, Illinois 60654 USA, Natalie Leppard For more information on how to vote, head over to our TurboVote module. He says it's more important to spread voting out over a period of days and methods. Omissions? Litigation pending before the Supreme Court this term in Brnovich v. DNC, however, threatens to undermine this rule. 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. The US ranks 26th out of 32 for voter turnout among Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) countries. The United States has held federal elections on the first Tuesday after the first Monday in November in even-numbered years since 1845. It would give people time to vote. Rather than make it a national holiday where inevitably people will still have to work, change election day to election week. Portugal celebrates the 1580 death of celebrated national poet Luis de Camoes, Spain celebrates Columbus Day (yes, the holiday is a little controversial there as well, although not as much as in the U.S.), the Netherlands celebrates the queen's birthday but it still use her mother's birthday for the date and, in Greenland, the celebrate the longest day of the year. Regional Belgian public holidays during 2023. 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. Democracy on the ballot will the remaining election deniers succeed? 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, . 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. Veterans Day typically is about one week after Election Day so this would involve little disruption in terms of job schedules and monthly routines. It is very, very hard to change core American traditions.. Corrections? November 7, 2023. By comparison,. But none of those states have considerably high turnout compared to those where it isn't a holiday. 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. Read more: You can take time off from work to vote in 30 states here's the full list. Explore which countries have weekend voting with Pew Research. ", ProCon.org. 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. "[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. Russia's national holiday only goes back to 1992, when the Russian Federation was founded. 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. In the 2016 election, only 56% of voting-age Americans cast their ballots. 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. It is set by statute as "the Tuesday next after the first Monday in the month of November.". (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.). Voter turnout in the United States is usually considered low, especially in years without a presidential election. Furthermore, making this small shift would celebrate the purpose and sacrifice of our fighting forces. [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. 3. Essential reporting and analysis from correspondents around the world. CBS News reporter covering climate change and energy. [14], Pew Research Center found that 71% of Democrats and 59% of Republicans support making Election Day a federal holiday. He thinks the increased options afforded by early and mail-in voting could be undermined by making Election Day a holiday, creating "a solution in search of a problem.". States such as Georgia and Iowa already have passed restrictive measures and many others appear poised to do the same thing. 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. According to the country's website detailing their "digital society," online voting has soared from 1.9% in 2005 to 30.5% in 2015.