Again, it is not clear that this is demonstrably true but it is a widespread perception. Newsweek subscription offers > "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. And she thinks corporate America has been leading the way, pointing out several businesses, including Walmart and Coca-Cola, that have announced paid time off and other accommodations to make voting easier for employees on November 3. 1, which adds a new paid holiday for federal employees every other year. 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. Election Day as a holiday is something that exists in other countries, but not in most places in the U.S. It's an issue that comes up a lot, but never really gets much serious public debate. 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.
Public holidays in Belgium in 2022 and 2023 | Expatica Early voting for the midterms varies by state. 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.
Is Election Day a Federal Holiday? - NBC Chicago ProCon/Encyclopaedia Britannica, Inc. 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.
Should Election Day in the U.S. be a national holiday? Last week his office released a list of voting rights provisions he would support. All 435 representatives were up for re-election, as well as a third ofsenators, and countless elections for governors, mayors, state legislators, and local government across the country. Corrections?
Why Isn't Election Day A National Holiday In The United States? - HuffPost There are many ways to boost voter turnout expanding early voting, automatically registering voters, and improving civic education programs . Last modified on October 1, 2020. 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. 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." 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. Countries that hold the ballot before Sunday are not permitted to announce results until all other countries have finished voting. Skip Navigation Push for the position and policies you support by writing US national senators and representatives. Keep in mind that in the mid-1800s, the U.S. was largely an agricultural society. However, making National Election Day a holiday will disadvantage low-income and blue . History of Election Day I'll look into this some more and may change it on the map. Chicago, Illinois 60654 USA, Natalie Leppard Why or why not? In an interview published Thursday, President Obama endorsed the idea of holding U.S. federal elections on weekends or national holidays. [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. One major reason: It comes down to tradition, Troy said. 3. There's nothing that would stop voters here from treating a Democracy Day like just another day off.". 3) Britain and Denmark have no national days. Election Day is already a holiday for state employees in more than a dozen states including Kentucky, Michigan, and New York. Tuesday is Election Day, but only in some parts of the country will voters get the day off to cast their ballots. However, the issues vary among different demographic groups. In 2007, the country held the world's first general Internet election. Reformers will be far more successful adding a few days or options or opportunities than trying to undo Election Day.. 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. 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. ], ProCon.org, "Election Day National Holiday Top 3 Pros and Cons,", ProCon.org, "Election Day National Holiday Top 3 Pros and Cons. procon@eb.com, 2022 Encyclopaedia Britannica, Inc. Consider how you felt about the issue before reading this article.
Should Election Day Be a Holiday? - Homepage | Morningside Center for 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. American election laws have been reformed before with minimal impact on voter turnout which remains low compared to other democracies around the world. [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). https://www.britannica.com/question/Should-election-day-be-made-a-national-holiday. [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. So, focusing voting efforts to one day doesn't do enough to accommodate everyone, Becker argues.
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. Some countries, including Belgium and Turkey, see such high voter turnout mainly because of their compulsory voting laws. Voters in more than one-third of the country enjoy some form of an Election Day holiday, according to RepresentUs. Consider the potential benefits and difficulties of changing election day. Will the party listen to them on the issues? In the 2016 election, only 56% of voting-age Americans cast their ballots. And that election saw the second highest voter turnout in 20 years. From 2021, the first Sunday of June. 11 July (Tuesday): Celebration of the Golden Spurs (Day of the Flemish Community) - celebrates the victory of the count of Flanders and the borough militia against the king of France outside Courtrai. Consider the pandemic, which has not given essential workers more time off. The types of workers least likely to reap the benefits of a federal holiday are those who already struggle to vote, Shineman noted. So the question of how you label Ireland goes back to which holiday you consider its national day. Most National Days are fixed, exceptions to this are shown below. Election officials in various states have predicted historic levels of turnout in 2020, with a chance to reach the highest ever. We're familiar with how voting works in the U.S.when we vote, how we vote, who we vote forbut do you know what voting is like in other countries around the world?
Should election day be made a national holiday? | Britannica In many other democracies around the world, national elections are held on the weekend or are a federal holiday. Nine states classify general elections as holidays: Florida, Hawaii, Maryland, Montana, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Rhode Island and Virginia. 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. Presidential and semipresidential systems, Constituencies: districting and apportionment. Election Day is always the first Tuesday after November 1st. Proponents say teens are knowledgeable enough to vote. 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. by country by date 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. Others say a holiday would disadvantage low-income and blue collar workers and corporations should have better policies for voting time off. In the United States, it varies from state to state and even county to county, so the idea that one entire country might use the same voting method is actually pretty unique to Americans! Here is the relevant passage from Acts 28: 2023 BuzzFeed, Inc. All rights reserved. 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. Democratic rights are much easier to end than they are to restore, so the federal government must respond to the wave of voter suppression overtaking the states with decisive, expansive action. Think of things such as voter ID laws, lowering the voting age, and abolishing the Electoral College. That means the stock market will be open, and so will. Encyclopaedia Britannica's editors oversee subject areas in which they have extensive knowledge, whether from years of experience gained by working on that content or via study for an advanced degree. Japan formally celebrates the anniversary of an ancient mythical emperor, although the holiday is mostly ignored today, due in part to its connections with Japan's ugly imperial history. "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. As for Denmark, it has a national liberation day and some people celebrate international worker's day, but neither is a public holiday. While some states have made Election Day a civic holiday (though it primarily applies to public workers) and most have laws that require companies to give employees some time off to vote, none of the legislative efforts to enact these changes on a national level have been successful. Presented by:Defense Language and National Security Education Office, 60% of the eligible voting population vast a vote, looked at a few different methods of voting.
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Is Election Day a national holiday? Why you don't get the day off Many other democracies make election day a holiday and they all have higher voter turnout than we do. 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. Regional Belgian public holidays during 2023. List two to three ways. Here are five reasons why Election Day should be a national holiday. Declaring Election Day a holiday has been proposed various times in Congress; it's a popular idea. "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. Rupak De Chowdhuri/Reuters. Making the presidential election a national holiday is another way to get people to the polls.
Election Day should be a 'day off,' U.S. President Joe Biden says 3. 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. 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. It is the day when popular ballots are held to select public officials. In-person polls open Sunday at 12:01am, close Saturday at 11:59pm. Whether election day should be made a national holiday is debated. This is the day we cast ballots to select public officials from local to the national government. The U.S. ranks 26th out of 32 for voter among Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development countries.
[28][29], Patagonia, an outdoor clothing retailer, paused operation on Nov. 6, 2018 so that all employees could vote. All federal elections take place the Tuesday after the first Monday in November. [24] Holidays usually mean more work hours for retail workers, because stores run promotions and sales. Let us make it as easy as we can," Sanders told CBS News. The COVID-19 pandemic convinced.
National Days around the world | Office Holidays As for Denmark, it has a national liberation day and some people celebrate international worker's day, but neither is a public holiday. 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. Research has found that higher trust in the government and democratic process leads to greater voter turnout. [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. It worked. Vote.org CEO Andrea Hailey agrees. 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%. Meanwhile, in Macedonia this past September, voters chose to stay away from the polls because of the proposed name change for the country. Tuesday was chosen because it was most convenient for farmers traveling by horse and buggy at the time. It commemorates the life and work of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., a reverend and civil . Sign up for notifications from Insider! He says it's more important to spread voting out over a period of days and methods. But it is not a federal holiday. With those options early in-person voting and more voter awareness on how to vote by mail voter turnout appears to be trending upward. In Switzerland, only one canton (or member state) requires voting; it is voluntary all other cantons of the country. Ralph Northam signed into law a measure that, among other things, makes Election Day a state holiday in the commonwealth. 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%. We also know that countries that have marked their election days as federal events see higher voting turnouts than the United States. Access your favorite topics in a personalized feed while you're on the go. Election day or polling day is the day on which general elections are held. 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.
Should Election Day Be a Holiday? Here Are Some Pros and Cons 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.