For other uses, see. In an interview with President Barack Obama in 2016, Dan Corey, editor-in-chief of Rutgers University's official student newspaper, The Daily Targum, asked Obama about what could be done to reverse the US's low voter turnout: The Daily Targum: "You have pointed out many times that voter turnout in the United States is very low, especially compared to other developed nations. Estonia This tiny Baltic nation is making waves for introducing something that seems completely logical in the digital age -- online voting. But some election analysts told CBS News that making Election Day a holiday is not a way to make voting easier. I think, to the best of my knowledge, it's something like $20. John M. Cunningham, "Why Are U.S. Access your favorite topics in a personalized feed while you're on the go. "We should be making it easier for people to vote, not harder. [8], Among registered voters in the 2016 US presidential election, being too busy or having a conflicting schedule was the third-highest reason cited for not voting, accounting for 14% of registered voters who did not cast a vote (about 2.7 million people). And some countries, like Australia, require people to vote by subjecting those who don't to a minor fine equivalent to a traffic ticket. 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." However, those numbers may be attributed to a combination of factors not solely because their elections occur on non-work days. For rest of the festival holidays the declaration . 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. The COVID-19 pandemic convinced. In some states where they don't have mail-in ballots, voting can take a lot of time out of the day. TOP QUESTION The United States has held federal elections on the first Tuesday after the first Monday in November in even-numbered years since 1845. This year, Election . Omissions? The earliest possible date that Election Day can fall on is November 2nd, and the latest possible date is November 8th. by country by date However, some countries, or regions within a country, which hold elections on a weekday declare election day a public holiday. But while . All rights reserved. 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. Holidays, law.cornell.edu (accessed Sep. 30, 2019), Matthew Haag, "Mitch McConnell Calls Push to Make Election Day a Holiday a Democratic Power Grab," nytimes.com, Jan. 31, 2019, Drew DeSilver, "U.S. Trails Most Developed Countries in Voter Turnout, pewresearch.org, May 21, 2018, Gustavo Lpez and Antonio Flores, "Dislike of Candidates or Campaign Issues Was Most Common Reason for Not Voting in 2016, pewresearch.org, June 1, 2017, Beau C. Tremitiere, "Election Day Should Be a National Holiday, cnbc.com, July 5, 2016, York Dispatch Editorial Board, "Editorial: On Voting, GOP Takes a Holiday from its Senses, yorkdispatch.com, Feb. 1, 2019, Tacey Rychter, "How Compulsory Voting Works: Australians Explain," nytimes.com, Nov. 5, 2018, Archon Fung and Jane Mansbridge, "Lets Vote, Party and Celebrate American Democracy on a New Holiday Called Citizen Day, usatoday.com, Oct. 26, 2018, Thomas MacMillan, "This Might Be the Best Idea for Turning out More Voters in U.S. Elections, nymag.com, July 8, 2017, Drew Desilver, "Weekday Elections Set the U.S. apart from Many Other Advanced Democracies, pewresearch.org, Nov. 6, 2018, Kathy Frankovic, "St. Patricks Day Not So Popular - Americans Would Rather Election Day a Holiday, today.yougov.com, Mar. Mail-in voting starts 1 month before polls open. Most of these 19 states' policies only cover general elections, though. CBS News reporter covering climate change and energy. Opponents say kids arent mature enough to vote. 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. Some countries, including Belgium and Turkey, see such high voter turnout mainly because of their compulsory voting laws. [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. Third Monday of October every four years, or after Parliament is dissolved by the. 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,". So the question of how you label Ireland goes back to which holiday you consider its national day. However, making National Election Day a holiday will disadvantage low-income and blue . Incidentally, Australia routinely reaches more than 90. 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. America is walking the knifes edge between maintaining and losing democracy. The types of workers least likely to reap the benefits of a federal holiday are those who already struggle to vote, Shineman noted. [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. According to the country's website detailing their "digital society," online voting has soared from 1.9% in 2005 to 30.5% in 2015. American election laws have been reformed before with minimal impact on voter turnout which remains low compared to other democracies around the world. Unlike Singapore, South Korea and Israel, Canada has not declared election days as public holidays. Update: Some readers think that Ireland should also be considered an outlier, as St. Patrick's Day is often considered its primary "national day" and is not really an independence or revolution day. It worked. Election Day is always the first Tuesday after November 1st. Reformers will be far more successful adding a few days or options or opportunities than trying to undo Election Day.. In an interview published Thursday, President Obama endorsed the idea of holding U.S. federal elections on weekends or national holidays. First Sunday of July until 2018. Last modified on October 1, 2020. 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.". 3. Election Day is observed on the first Tuesday after the first Monday in November, taking place on November 7 this year. While young people are generally less likely to vote, they are more motivated by the issue of freedom of speech than older generations. Early voting for the midterms varies by state. 3. Declaring Election Day a holiday has been proposed various times in Congress; it's a popular idea. Senator Bernie Sanders has certainly tried heintroducedthe "Democracy Day Act" in 2018, which proposed making Election Day a federal holiday. Additionally, many of these individuals rely on school days as childcare for their children. And in Australia, there is a fine. 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. 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. 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. It would give people time to vote. 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. [25], According to the AFL-CIO, 30 states require employers to allow employees time off for voting. ProCon.org. 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. "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. Virginia joined these states in April this year. Rather than make it a national holiday where inevitably people will still have to work, change election day to election week. Over the course of three days, Estonians could vote by placing their state-issued ID cards (which have an electronic chip . On Sunday, Virginia Democratic Gov. Rose Marcario, CEO, stated, demonstrating your companys commitment to voting will reinforce how essential it is that every eligible voter shows up. Read more: You can take time off from work to vote in 30 states here's the full list. Others have suggested making Veterans Day (Nov. 11), which is already a paid national holiday, Election Day. Should the United States use the Electoral College in presidential elections? In some of these countries, voting is compulsory, and in most of them, Election Day is a holiday. Meanwhile, in Macedonia this past September, voters chose to stay away from the polls because of the proposed name change for the country. In 2018, a Pewstudy found that 65% of Americans favored making Election Day a national holiday. 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. Change often comes slowly, subtly. States such as Georgia and Iowa already have passed restrictive measures and many others appear poised to do the same thing. 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. The correct answer is B. Advertisement Advertisement marberman marberman The US isn't the only developed country that faces this criticism, however. Some countries, about 27 of them,make voting compulsory. 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. Some say a holiday would increase voter turnout by enabling more people to vote while celebrating democracy. It's amazing how much of the map is green, indicating countries that celebrate a national independence day every year. 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 these provisions represent major steps in the right direction, they are not enough. During the 2016 presidential election, less than 56% of the estimated voting-age population in the US voted. Election Day is a state holiday in Delaware, Hawaii, Kentucky, Indiana, Maryland, Michigan, New Jersey, Rhode Island, and New York. 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. 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. 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. 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. But in many other countries, the government automatically registers voters and holds elections on days that are weekend days or national holidays. In Switzerland, only one canton (or member state) requires voting; it is voluntary all other cantons of the country. A National Day is a date for a country to celebrate its nationhood. So, workers having a day off to vote wouldn't be a disruption to the economy, or anything a citizen of our country could deny would be worthwhile and smart thing to do. Sunday: the second Sunday of March for Congress, and the second Sunday of May for President and Vice President. 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. As Congress continues to grapple with voting rights legislation this week, Sen. Joe Manchin (D-WV) has used his considerable influence as the Senates key swing vote to set the terms of the debate. [10][11]] Examine this opinion article from Evil HR Lady Suzanne Lucas on why election day should not be a national holiday. People literally cannot get to the polling booth because it may close at 7 o'clock and they're working later. Experts told CBS News that it's no coincidence this is occurring in a year when Americans have more time and more ways to vote than ever before. Push for the position and policies you support by writing US national senators and representatives. Veterans Day typically is about one week after Election Day so this would involve little disruption in terms of job schedules and monthly routines. 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. House Democrats introduced their first piece of legislation in the new Congress this week, an anti-corruption bill that proposes making Election Day a federal holiday and encourages . 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. 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. 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. It is very, very hard to change core American traditions which Americans see not only as propping up their democracy but perpetuating its legitimacy, he said. Democracy on the ballot will the remaining election deniers succeed? For more on the debate about making election day a national holiday, visit ProCon.org. 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, . 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. In previous elections, that percentage was even higher. Again, it is not clear that this is demonstrably true but it is a widespread perception. In Estonia, a national ID card (required for every citizen in the country) can be used to vote remotely. You are also agreeing to our Terms of Service and Privacy Policy. 2) Most other countries are shaped by relatively recent revolutions. Hailey said the country needs a "cultural shift" to prioritize voting. South Korea and Israel hold theirs during the week, but have made the day a federal holiday. 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. 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. I'll look into this some more and may change it on the map. Explore which countries have weekend voting with Pew Research. Because the impact of a federal holiday is far-reaching, many states and workplaces would likely follow suit. "Election Day should be a national holiday so that everyone has the time and opportunity to vote," Sanders' website reads. [7] A handful of states have made election day a state holiday, including New York, Hawaii, Kentucky, and, in Apr. 26 th January (Republic Day), 15 th August (Independence Day) and 2 nd October (Gandhi Jayanti). Our editors will review what youve submitted and determine whether to revise the article. ", Obama: "Absolutely. Stay up to date with what you want to know. 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. Think about it. Operated 24:7 through the week. [36]. "[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. Delaware, Hawaii, Kentucky, Indiana, Maryland, Michigan, New Jersey, Rhode Island and New York have also made Election Day into a state holiday. 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. These efforts challenge fundamental values of American democracy and constitute a serious threat to the one person, one vote principle. But some think it should be. 25, 2016, Chris Talgo, "Make Election Day a National Holiday? The bill would also effectively revive Section 5 of the Voting Rights Act of 1965, which requires states with a history of voter discrimination have all changes to their election laws approved by the federal government, updating the law in response to the Supreme Courts 2013 holding in Shelby County v. Holder. For example, Australia typically has a turnout in the 90 percent or more range, and other nations such as Argentina, Belgium, Brazil, Costa Rica, and Mexico achieve very high turnout via universal voting and time off for voting. Other countries may only require it of certain people, and otherwise make it voluntary for others. - 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. Here is the relevant passage from Acts 28: 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. 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. Should the United States Use the Electoral College in Presidential Elections? A cemetery posted a personal ad for a goose whose mate died. Russia's national holiday only goes back to 1992, when the Russian Federation was founded. 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. 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. Twenty-seven of the 36 member countries, hold their elections on the weekend. Proponents say the Electoral College ensures everyone selects the president. Of these countries, 27 hold their national elections on a weekend. Consider the pandemic, which has not given essential workers more time off. So, focusing voting efforts to one day doesn't do enough to accommodate everyone, Becker argues.
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countries where election day is a national holiday