Incidentally, Australia routinely reaches more than 90. States such as Georgia and Iowa already have passed restrictive measures and many others appear poised to do the same thing. 4) The outliers are few but tell you a lot about those . Top editors give you the stories you want delivered right to your inbox each weekday. These efforts challenge fundamental values of American democracy and constitute a serious threat to the one person, one vote principle. [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. While young people are generally less likely to vote, they are more motivated by the issue of freedom of speech than older generations. For more on the debate about making election day a national holiday, visit ProCon.org. With those options early in-person voting and more voter awareness on how to vote by mail voter turnout appears to be trending upward. Voters in more than one-third of the country enjoy some form of an Election Day holiday, according to RepresentUs. Until 2009, elections were held over several consecutive Sundays. 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. In an interview published Thursday, President Obama endorsed the idea of holding U.S. federal elections on weekends or national holidays. Israel and South Korea hold their elections on weekdays, but they're national holidays. The correct answer is B. Advertisement Advertisement marberman marberman A National Day is a date for a country to celebrate its nationhood. Should People Who Have Completed Felony Sentences Be Allowed to Vote? Read More, Election Day is a holiday in Puerto Rico. 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. Theyare still considerably higher than in the United States, which typically sees about 65% on average turn out to vote for major elections. 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. A National Day is a date for a country to celebrate its nationhood. Younger generations are also more likely to participate in political discussions online, which shows that a move towards digitizing the political and voting processes may not be too far off. We are very proud that we are mentioned in the Bible. The outliers are a tiny minority, and only two countries have no formal national day at all. 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. Should the United States Use the Electoral College in Presidential Elections? 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. By law, polling day is a public holiday if it falls on a weekday. 25, 2016, Chris Talgo, "Make Election Day a National Holiday? Other politicians, businesses, and advocacy groups have voiced their approval of celebrating Election Day as a national holiday. Should People Who Have Completed Felony Sentences Be Allowed to Vote? Veterans Day typically is about one week after Election Day so this would involve little disruption in terms of job schedules and monthly routines. Sweden came second with 82.6%. Again, it is not clear that this is demonstrably true but it is a widespread perception. An independence day is an annual event commemorating the anniversary of a nation's independence or statehood, usually after ceasing to be a group or part of another nation or state, or more rarely after the end of a military occupation.Many countries commemorate their independence from a colonial empire.. Not all countries mark independence as a national holiday. But this arrangement began to raise concerns as travel and communication improved in the 19th century: Results from states that voted earlier could sway the outcome in states that voted later. Election day or polling day is the day on which general elections are held. 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. "[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. The U.S. is one of only nine member nations that have weekday voting. The Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) is a group that includes 36 countries. [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. "We should be making it easier for people to vote, not harder. 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. Election Day is a state holiday in Delaware, Hawaii, Kentucky, Indiana, Maryland, Michigan, New Jersey, Rhode Island, and New York. To make Election Day a national holiday, it would take an act of Congress, and so far, no bills proposing such action have passed. [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. People literally cannot get to the polling booth because it may close at 7 o'clock and they're working later. 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. This is the day we cast ballots to select public officials from local to the national government. Most of these 19 states' policies only cover general elections, though. The types of workers least likely to reap the benefits of a federal holiday are those who already struggle to vote, Shineman noted. Litigation pending before the Supreme Court this term in Brnovich v. DNC, however, threatens to undermine this rule. In Switzerland, only one canton (or member state) requires voting; it is voluntary all other cantons of the country. Even people youd expect to know, like politicians, have been stumped by this very question. So far this year, hundreds of bills have been introduced that could have the effect of suppressing peoples right to vote. However, those numbers may be attributed to a combination of factors not solely because their elections occur on non-work days. 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. Other countries may only require it of certain people, and otherwise make it voluntary for others. [28][29], Patagonia, an outdoor clothing retailer, paused operation on Nov. 6, 2018 so that all employees could vote. Think of things such as voter ID laws, lowering the voting age, and abolishing the Electoral College. Do you think it's time for the US to follow their lead? In 2018, a Pewstudy found that 65% of Americans favored making Election Day a national holiday. That's true, although the separate "National Day of Commemoration" occurs on the anniversary of the truce ending the Irish war of independence. These numbers also may be indicative of higher turnout for major elections, but may not reflect engagement in local or regional elections. However, making National Election Day a holiday will disadvantage low-income and blue . "Election day should be a national holiday" is a claim of policy because we are discussing a policy which searches a solution for the presented argument. [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. Sunday. 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. If so, how? [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. 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. Georgia grassroots groups helped Biden win. America is walking the knifes edge between maintaining and losing democracy. For more on the debate about making election day a national holiday, visit ProCon.org. Most National Days are fixed, exceptions to this are shown below. The earliest possible date that Election Day can fall on is November 2nd, and the latest possible date is November 8th. In Sweden, for example, 83% of registered voters participated in the 2014 national . There's nothing that would stop voters here from treating a Democracy Day like just another day off.". 2. "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. This article was published more than10 years ago. ], ProCon.org, "Election Day National Holiday Top 3 Pros and Cons,", ProCon.org, "Election Day National Holiday Top 3 Pros and Cons. In-person polls open Sunday at 12:01am, close Saturday at 11:59pm. American election laws have been reformed before with minimal impact on voter turnout which remains low compared to other democracies around the world. 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. Sunday: first Sunday of February for the President, Vice-President, and Legislative Assembly; second Sunday of February for municipal elections. 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. Consider the potential benefits and difficulties of changing election day. Presidential elections are held every four years, in years divisible by four, while the elections to the . Presidential and semipresidential systems, Constituencies: districting and apportionment. Additionally, many of these individuals rely on school days as childcare for their children. 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%. Sunday: the second Sunday of March for Congress, and the second Sunday of May for President and Vice President. 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. In fact, in Estonia, the option tovoteonlineis becoming increasingly popular. Should the United States use the Electoral College in presidential elections? 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. Last week his office released a list of voting rights provisions he would support. Would making Election Day a federal holiday increase voter turnout and celebrate democracy? Sign up for notifications from Insider! Most National Days are fixed, exceptions to this are shown below. It is very, very hard to change core American traditions.. But experts say improving voter turnout is a complicated issue that no single silver bullet strategy can solve. According to Pew Research data, US voter turnout trails most developed countries. Here are five reasons why Election Day should be a national holiday. 1. 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. 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. by country by date It happens to be on the day the politicians themselves get elected. In 1845, when Congress established a national election day, it had to be a Tuesday because farmers went to church on Sunday, went to market on Wednesday, and may have needed a day, Monday, to get to their polling place, Gil Troy an American presidential historian and McGill University professor told HuffPost. [7] A handful of states have made election day a state holiday, including New York, Hawaii, Kentucky, and, in Apr. 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. as well as other partner offers and accept our. But in many other countries, the government automatically registers voters and holds elections on days that are weekend days or national holidays. What we're proposing isn't that every Election Day becomes a national holiday, just the presidential election, which only takes place once every four years. Because the impact of a federal holiday is far-reaching, many states and workplaces would likely follow suit. Traditionally on weekends. [1], An election day usually culminates in an election night when the results of the election are tallied and winners are announced.[2]. In fact, these voters may be more likely to have to work as a result of a federal election holiday, where they may have had time off previously on a random Tuesday in November.

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