Buell Wrecking Australia, Faint Line On Lateral Flow Test After An Hour, Ryan Reynolds Daughters Hanbok, Surf Beach Shark Attack 2020, Jules Bernard Mother, Articles C

Election Day is observed on the first Tuesday after the first Monday in November, taking place on November 7 this year. And in Australia, there is a fine. Vote.org CEO Andrea Hailey agrees. "I'm not a fan," said Eddie Perez, an election administration and election technology expert at the Open Source Election Technology (OSET) Institute. They stated, Citizen Day would do more than give our democracy the honor that it deserves; it would help our democracy work better. It would give people time to vote. And even if it were a federal holiday, that wouldn't ensure that all voting-age Americans would have the day off. Updates? Usually Wednesday. South Korea and Israel hold theirs during the week, but have made the day a federal holiday. Martin Luther King Jr. Day Washington's Birthday Memorial Day Flag Day Independence Day Constitution Day Election Day Veterans Day Bill of Rights Day Martin Luther King Jr. Day Martin Luther King, Jr. Day takes place on third Monday of January each year, near the time of Dr. King's birthday on January 15th. 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. 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. 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. 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. 1. 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. Elections Held on Tuesdays?, britannica.com (accessed Sep. 30, 2019), Evan Andrews, "Election 1010: Why Do We Vote on a Tuesday in November?, history.com, Aug. 31, 2018, Grace Panetta and Olivia Reaney, "Today Is National Voter Registration Day. The US isn't the only developed country that faces this criticism, however. And some countries, like Australia, require people to vote by subjecting those who dont to a minor fine equivalent to a traffic ticket. 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). Vote.org has called on Amazon, Disney, McDonald's and others to offer paid time off for employees to vote and or work the polls. Roughly 138 million Americans voted in the 2016 presidential election, just 61.4% of the 214,109,360 million who were registered to vote, according to The U.S. Election Assistance Commission. 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 . The outliers are a tiny minority, and only two countries have no formal national day at all. [12], The idea that voting should be a celebration, not a chore is one argument for turning Election Day into a national holiday, according to Archon Fung, PhD, and Jane Mansbridge, PhD, professors at the Harvard Kennedy School. ABUJA, Nigeria -- Nigeria's election commission announced the first results late Sunday from the country's closely watched presidential election, but it could days . South Africa's is from the first democratic elections, in 1994. "And we actually have more options than ever before.". People literally cannot get to the polling booth because it may close at 7 o'clock and they're working later. However, those numbers may be attributed to a combination of factors not solely because their elections occur on non-work days. [28][29], Patagonia, an outdoor clothing retailer, paused operation on Nov. 6, 2018 so that all employees could vote. Proponents say teens are knowledgeable enough to vote. In a number of states, polling places have been closed in minority neighborhoods, which has created long lines and tremendous inconvenience for affected votersinconvenience with a cost, especially for those paid hourly wages. Election Day is a state holiday in Delaware, Hawaii, Kentucky, Indiana, Maryland, Michigan, New Jersey, Rhode Island, and New York. Our editors will review what youve submitted and determine whether to revise the article. "We should be making it easier for people to vote, not harder. Sunday. What other improvements could be made to voting and Election Day? Some countries, including Belgium and Turkey, see such high voter turnout mainly because of their compulsory voting laws. Virginia joined these states in April this year. I'll look into this some more and may change it on the map. As for Denmark, it has a national liberation day and some people celebrate international worker's day, but neither is a public holiday. As old as all of these societies are, their senses of national identity are commemorated by remarkably recent events. [15] Israel and South Korea make national elections a holiday to avoid economic hardship for voters. Countries like France, Germany, and India all recognize Election Day as a national holiday or hold elections on the weekend in order to increase voter turnout. This . Explain your answers. Some say a holiday would increase voter turnout by enabling more people to vote while celebrating democracy. 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. Again, it is not clear that this is demonstrably true but it is a widespread perception. 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. Modern life operates around the clock. Why Election Day is Held on a Tuesday in November in the U.S. A Boatload of Ballots: Midterm Voter Turnout Hit 50-Year High, Estonia's i-voting: more secure, more popular, Macedonia referendum: Low voter turnout puts country's name change at risk, What Voting and Elections Look Like Around the World, X Marks the Choice: Voting Methods around the World, Defense Language and National Security Education Office. In some states where they don't have mail-in ballots, voting can take a lot of time out of the day. A simple but effective change, however, could be made in election timing. Most National Days are fixed, exceptions to this are shown below. Last Tuesday was election day in the United States, and this year we voted in the midterm elections. In-person polls open Sunday at 12:01am, close Saturday at 11:59pm. With just about six in 10 voters turning out to vote in the U.S., some civil rights advocates are arguing that it's about time to give Americans the day off to vote. Argentina has instated compulsory voting laws, but only sees about 76% voter turnout. 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. 26 th January (Republic Day), 15 th August (Independence Day) and 2 nd October (Gandhi Jayanti). Some businesses may close, but their hourly paid employees will either have to use a PTO day or not get paid.. And. [31]. Other countries take heroic efforts to ensure that people can vote if they desire. [27], Companies including Abercrombie & Fitch Co., Farmers Insurance, Kaiser Permanente, Patagonia, and Walmart have joined Make Time to Vote campaign, which encourages employers to provide paid time off, schedule no meetings on Election Day, and give information on mail-in ballots and early voting. All federal elections take place the Tuesday after the first Monday in November. Pew also found that certain issues motivate voters more than others: "health care, poverty and education are the top motivators for political engagement." https://www.britannica.com/question/Should-election-day-be-made-a-national-holiday. [25], According to the AFL-CIO, 30 states require employers to allow employees time off for voting. By comparison, Belgium reported the highest OECD voter turnout: 87.2% in the most recent national election. In 2007, the country held the world's first general Internet election. While no state has proposed reinstating the literacy tests, poll taxes, and grandfather clauses that effectively ended the burst of African-American franchise during Reconstruction, todays efforts to disenfranchise minority voters are similarly unsubtle. 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. 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. Understanding what happened in the Chicago mayoral race. Rather than make it a national holiday where inevitably people will still have to work, change election day to election week. 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. It was created in 1992,. Would making Election Day a federal holiday increase voter turnout and celebrate democracy? This is the day we cast ballots to select public officials from local to the national government. Voters in more than one-third of the country enjoy some form of an Election Day holiday, according to RepresentUs. ", Obama: "Absolutely. [14][35] In Australia, where voting is mandatory, elections are celebrated with parties and barbeques nationwide, resulting in turnout rates around 90%. Access your favorite topics in a personalized feed while you're on the go. Fourth Sunday of October immediately before the end of the current mandates. 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. October 26, 2020 / 10:57 AM Should the United States Use the Electoral College in Presidential Elections? 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. 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. First published on October 26, 2020 / 10:57 AM. The Freedom to Vote Act would make Election Day a national holiday for federal elections, meaning non-essential federal employees would get a paid day off. Rather, federal elections are held on the third Monday of October, every four years . The United States has held federal elections on the first Tuesday after the first Monday in November in even-numbered years since 1845. Disclaimer: Dates and Events correct at time of printing but may change without our knowledge. Last week his office released a list of voting rights provisions he would support. In many other democracies around the world, national elections are held on the weekend or are a federal holiday. Office Holidays provides calendars with dates and information on public holidays and bank holidays in key countries around the world.