3. Start the discussion over on our Facebook page, and let us know about civic engagement in your town, state, or country! Or is it an optimistic idea that would exclude already disadvantaged voters while failing to increase turnout? Access your favorite topics in a personalized feed while you're on the go. 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. Because the impact of a federal holiday is far-reaching, many states and workplaces would likely follow suit. 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. Let us know if you have suggestions to improve this article (requires login). According to Washington Post columnist Ruth Marcus, Australia adopted compulsory voting in 1924 after turnout there dropped to less than 60 percent in 1922. It is set by statute as "the Tuesday next after the first Monday in the month of November.". - 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. While young people are generally less likely to vote, they are more motivated by the issue of freedom of speech than older generations. Other countries take heroic efforts to ensure that people can vote if they desire. Approximately two million people who work for the federal government would be given a paid day off, and private companies might follow suit. First Sunday of October. 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. Part of HuffPost Home & Living. Last Tuesday was election day in the United States, and this year we voted in the midterm elections. Rupak De Chowdhuri/Reuters. [24] Holidays usually mean more work hours for retail workers, because stores run promotions and sales. 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. 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. This article is about the general term "election day" worldwide. Last modified on October 1, 2020. Such a change would mostly benefit white-collar workers instead of the lower-income workers its designed to help. As for Denmark, it has a national liberation day and some people celebrate international worker's day, but neither is a public holiday. 1, which adds a new paid holiday for federal employees every other year. Most National Days are fixed, exceptions to this are shown below. But it is not a federal holiday. American election laws have been reformed before with minimal impact on voter turnout which remains low compared to other democracies around the world. [20][21][22] A part-time hourly worker is more likely to have multiple jobs, none of which are likely to offer time off for a national holiday. And the empire has been pretty consistently breaking apart over the last half century Scotland is maybe next so it's not like there is a national unification to celebrate. 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 designate election day a national holiday. 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. Interestingly, 27 of the 36 countries that are members of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (made up largely of advanced democracies) conduct their national elections on the weekend. 3. The Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) is a group that includes 36 countries. 2023 BuzzFeed, Inc. All rights reserved. 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. And that election saw the second highest voter turnout in 20 years. 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. Should People Who Have Completed Felony Sentences Be Allowed to Vote? Furthermore, making this small shift would celebrate the purpose and sacrifice of our fighting forces. Opponents say it allows only a few states to select the president. List two to three ways. Compulsory voting does not necessarily guarantee 100% turnout rates, however, though they still see higher rates than countries which do not require it. 1. 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. 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. 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. There is a simple and straightforward solution: make Election Day a national holiday so that people have the time and freedom to vote without taking time off from work. By law, polling day is a public holiday if it falls on a weekday. Britain, after all, developed its political institutions pretty gradually, so there was no real "Bastille Day" moment that defines the modern nation. 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. Many other democracies make election day a holiday and they all have higher voter turnout than we do. "If I had my way, and I think it is really important, every . [ 18][ 19] Con 1 Countries that hold the ballot before Sunday are not permitted to announce results until all other countries have finished voting. 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. A simple but effective change, however, could be made in election timing. By entering your email and clicking Sign Up, you're agreeing to let us send you customized marketing messages about us and our advertising partners. [18][19], Federal law doesnt require private employers to give employees paid federal holidays. Corrections? Regional Belgian public holidays during 2023. In many other democracies around the world, national elections are held on the weekend or are a federal holiday. [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. However, some countries, or regions within a country, which hold elections on a weekday declare election day a public holiday. "And we actually have more options than ever before.". They stated, Citizen Day would do more than give our democracy the honor that it deserves; it would help our democracy work better. This article was published more than10 years ago. US voter turnout trails most developed countries. There are some exceptions; as Wednesday was not covered by the available dates, the Netherlands holds elections on Thursday, while Denmark holds elections on Sunday. [1], An election day usually culminates in an election night when the results of the election are tallied and winners are announced.[2]. Voter turnout in the United States is usually considered low, especially in years without a presidential election. That too is a reminder as to how new many of the ideas from that century, such as full enfranchisement and national self-determination, really are. 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%. Sign up for notifications from Insider! It is the day when popular ballots are held to select public officials. While making Election Day a national holiday or moving it to the weekend would by no means be a cure-all, it could be used in conjunction with other strategies like automatic voter registration (nearly 87% of registered voters participated in the 2016 election), restoring voting rights for formerly incarcerated people and removing other barriers such as voter ID requirements and voter roll purges that often disenfranchise people of color. [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. Modern life operates around the clock. Read More, Election Day is a holiday in Puerto Rico. 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. TOP QUESTION [15] A survey showed that US adults would rather have a federal holiday on Election Day than on Christmas Eve, the Friday after Thanksgiving, or St. Patricks day. [16]. Election day or polling day is the day on which general elections are held. If your thoughts have not changed, list two to three ways your better understanding of the other side of the issue now helps you better argue your position. Georgia grassroots groups helped Biden win. Would making Election Day a federal holiday increase voter turnout and celebrate democracy? 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. Unlike Singapore, South Korea and Israel, Canada has not declared election days as public holidays. Sweden came second with 82.6%. Chicago, Illinois 60654 USA, Natalie Leppard 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. Over the course of three days, Estonians could vote by placing their state-issued ID cards (which have an electronic chip . ", Obama: "Absolutely. 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. The types of workers least likely to reap the benefits of a federal holiday are those who already struggle to vote, Shineman noted. [4][5], The United States currently has 10 national holidays, including Memorial Day, Independence Day, and Christmas Day. 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 . Countries outpacing the U.S. include the U.K, Mexico and Canada. Opponents say kids arent mature enough to vote. The US ranks 26th out of 32 for voter turnout among Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) countries. A cemetery posted a personal ad for a goose whose mate died. 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. After all, what do our veterans fight for, if not for democracy itself? We are the only advanced democracy that makes it deliberately difficult for people to vote. With those options early in-person voting and more voter awareness on how to vote by mail voter turnout appears to be trending upward. Such low voter turnout rates in the United States have various reasons why many Americans decide not to vote, but one main reason is not giving them time to vote and cast their ballots. 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. Thats not to say no one has tried. 26 th January (Republic Day), 15 th August (Independence Day) and 2 nd October (Gandhi Jayanti). ", ProCon.org. It worked. It commemorates the life and work of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., a reverend and civil . So the question of how you label Ireland goes back to which holiday you consider its national day. Other politicians, businesses, and advocacy groups have voiced their approval of celebrating Election Day as a national holiday. "Voting is a fundamental right,. In the 2016 presidential election, 60% of the eligible voting population vast a vote; this year, a staggering 47.5%participated in the midterms, compared to 37% in 2014 and 41% in 2010, the years of other midterm elections. Consider the potential benefits and difficulties of changing election day. 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. Making Election Day a holiday would not necessarily involve adding a new holiday, which employers might resistparticularly following the addition of Juneteenth as a national holiday last week. Twenty-seven of the 36 member countries, hold their elections on the weekend. Until 2009, elections were held over several consecutive Sundays. Virginia joined these states in April this year. And even if it were a federal holiday, that wouldn't ensure that all voting-age Americans would have the day off. "With the variety of challenges that election officials face, [making Election Day a holiday] is well down on the list of those things that need to be addressed," Becker said. This page was last edited on 1 February 2023, at 18:43. South Korea and Israel hold theirs during the week, but have made the day a federal holiday.
Holland America Internet Packages 2021, Articles C