Why or why not? 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. Most National Days are fixed, exceptions to this are shown below. The Freedom to Vote Act would make Election Day a national holiday. A lot of people go to work, or they're in school during the weekday. Approximately two million people who work for the federal government would be given a paid day off, and private companies might follow suit. Again, it is not clear that this is demonstrably true but it is a widespread perception. Georgia grassroots groups helped Biden win. In the US, Election Day is not a national holiday. The U.S. ranks 26th out of 32 for voter among Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development countries. About 54 percent of eligible voters cast their ballots in the 2012 presidential contest between Barack Obama and Republican Mitt Romney, according to the Pew Research Center. 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. We are the only advanced democracy that makes it deliberately difficult for people to vote. 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, . 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. 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. "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. 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. Rupak De Chowdhuri/Reuters. 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. [8], In the 2016 presidential election, 55.7% of the American voting-age population cast a ballot. "If I had my way, and I think it is really important, every . All rights reserved. Should the Voting Age Be Lowered to 16? 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. And some countries, like Australia, require people to vote by subjecting those who don't to a minor fine equivalent to a traffic ticket. Should the United States Use the Electoral College in Presidential Elections? Right now, federal elections are always held on Tuesdays, because farmers in the 1840s needed multiple days to get to the . People literally cannot get to the polling booth because it may close at 7 o'clock and they're working later. "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. 27 September (Wednesday): Day of the French-speaking Community - commemorates the victory of the patriots against the Dutch army in Brussels in 1830. Last week his office released a list of voting rights provisions he would support. 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. Understanding what happened in the Chicago mayoral race. Presidential and semipresidential systems, Constituencies: districting and apportionment. President Obama likes the idea of changing the way or the day Americans vote. Consider the potential benefits and difficulties of changing election day. 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. First Sunday of July until 2018. It commemorates the life and work of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., a reverend and civil . All this despite the fact that these types of restrictions have typically been considered illegal under Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act, which requires that elections be equally open to all people. as well as other partner offers and accept our. History of Election Day 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. In Switzerland, only one canton (or member state) requires voting; it is voluntary all other cantons of the country. 325 N. LaSalle Street, Suite 200 It is set by statute as "the Tuesday next after the first Monday in the month of November.". 2. Making the presidential election a national holiday is another way to get people to the polls. 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). 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. 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. Some countries use electronic voting machines, such as India, while others rely on paper ballots, such as Zimbabwe. But they never go far and die in committee without a vote. 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. 26 th January (Republic Day), 15 th August (Independence Day) and 2 nd October (Gandhi Jayanti). It happens to be on the day the politicians themselves get elected. There are many ways to boost voter turnout expanding early voting, automatically registering voters, and improving civic education programs . [28][29], Patagonia, an outdoor clothing retailer, paused operation on Nov. 6, 2018 so that all employees could vote. And in Australia, there is a fine. In some states where they don't have mail-in ballots, voting can take a lot of time out of the day. The ideal solution is simple: Congress should make Election Day a national holiday, or move Election Day to the weekend. 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. Meanwhile, in Macedonia this past September, voters chose to stay away from the polls because of the proposed name change for the country. 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. "Election Day National Holiday Top 3 Pros and Cons." But none of those states have considerably high turnout compared to those where it isn't a 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. 0:00. As a holiday, that means several millions of people would have the day off from work or school, making it way . Rather, federal elections are held on the third Monday of October, every four years . Get browser notifications for breaking news, live events, and exclusive reporting. Americans are working all the time. Read more: You can take time off from work to vote in 30 states here's the full list. Consider, for example, the national days of France and Germany: the former marks the French revolution, in 1789, and the latter marks the German reunification in 1990. The United States is out of step with the rest of the world: elections are held on weekends in 27 of the 36 OECD countries. ", "An overall look at Vietnam's election law", https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Election_day&oldid=1136894393. The United States has held federal elections on the first Tuesday after the first Monday in November in even-numbered years since 1845. 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. 3. Election Day is not a national holiday in 2022, but some states require employees get paid time off to vote. Start the discussion over on our Facebook page, and let us know about civic engagement in your town, state, or country! Most others are not so recent, but still not so old: Taiwan's, for example, goes back to a 1911 uprising. By law, polling day is a public holiday if it falls on a weekday. 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. Fourth Sunday of October immediately before the end of the current mandates. October 26, 2020 / 10:57 AM 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. 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. 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. Here are five reasons why Election Day should be a national holiday. [7] A handful of states have made election day a state holiday, including New York, Hawaii, Kentucky, and, in Apr. Election day or polling day is the day on which general elections are held. But in many other countries, the government automatically registers voters and holds elections on days that are weekend days or national holidays. 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. [31] Same-day registration boosts turnout by 5%, and universal implementation of it would have added as many as 4.8 million voters in the 2016 election, according to Danielle Root, JD, and Liz Kennedy, JD, from the Center for American Progress. 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. Thats not to say no one has tried. 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. 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. Theyare still considerably higher than in the United States, which typically sees about 65% on average turn out to vote for major elections. The US ranks 26th out of 32 for voter turnout among Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) countries. 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. Please refer to the appropriate style manual or other sources if you have any questions. 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. Election officials in various states have predicted historic levels of turnout in 2020, with a chance to reach the highest ever. The earliest possible date that Election Day can fall on is November 2nd, and the latest possible date is November 8th. 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. In fact, in Estonia, the option tovoteonlineis becoming increasingly popular. Below are the proper citations for this page according to four style manuals (in alphabetical order): the Modern Language Association Style Manual (MLA), the Chicago Manual of Style (Chicago), the Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association (APA), and Kate Turabian's A Manual for Writers of Term Papers, Theses, and Dissertations (Turabian). It is very, very hard to change core American traditions.. 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 in the US voted during the 2016 presidential election. Virginia joined these states in April this year. 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. 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. In 2018, the general election was held on Wednesday. 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%. If Election Day were a national holiday, how would you ensure hourly and low-income workers would get a chance 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. So, focusing voting efforts to one day doesn't do enough to accommodate everyone, Becker argues. "Election Day should be a national holiday so that everyone has the time and opportunity to vote," Sanders' website reads. The U.S. House of Representatives just passed H.R. Change often comes slowly, subtly. Lessons in How to Hold Elections", "GE2015: First time Polling Day falls on a Friday, but not first time polls held on a weekday", "180/2014 Z.z. [8][15] A holiday for elections sidesteps the issue of a weekend election, which could conflict with religious obligations. On Sunday, Virginia Democratic Gov. 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. Will the party listen to them on the issues? 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. 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. Mr. CHRISTENSEN: One of the biggest countries that uses compulsory voting is Australia. 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. Election Day is already a holiday for state employees in more than a dozen states including Kentucky, Michigan, and New York. Plus, some experts say moving to weekend voting could substantially increase the cost of running elections. But Gupta said that there's been a "lack of political will" to give the initiative some momentum. However, some countries, or regions within a country, which hold elections on a weekday declare election day a public holiday. Estonia This tiny Baltic nation is making waves for introducing something that seems completely logical in the digital age -- online voting. CBS News reporter covering climate change and energy. Omissions? Additionally, many of these individuals rely on school days as childcare for their children. 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. February 26, 2023, 5:06 AM. Keep in mind that in the mid-1800s, the U.S. was largely an agricultural society. These efforts challenge fundamental values of American democracy and constitute a serious threat to the one person, one vote principle. By Monday morning, nearly 60 million had already voted early across the country, closing in on half of 2016's total voter turnout. 3) Britain and Denmark have no national days. Yet, few of us, especially those who have worked on Capitol Hill, harbor . 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. For federal offices (president, vice president, and United States Congress) and most gubernatorial offices (all except for . With those options early in-person voting and more voter awareness on how to vote by mail voter turnout appears to be trending upward. 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. Copyright 2023 CBS Interactive Inc. All rights reserved. 5. "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.". Unlike Singapore, South Korea and Israel, Canada has not declared election days as public holidays. While young people are generally less likely to vote, they are more motivated by the issue of freedom of speech than older generations. In previous elections, that percentage was even higher. Office Holidays provides calendars with dates and information on public holidays and bank holidays in key countries around the world. 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.
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