Vanita Gupta, CEO of the Leadership Conference on Human and Civil Rights, is working to increase voter participation and decrease voter disenfranchisement. 2023 BuzzFeed, Inc. All rights reserved. Countries like Argentina, Belgium, Brazil, Costa Rica, and Mexico also showed high voter turnout rates by having holidays. Elections to the Bundestag may be held on another public holiday. 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. 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. In the 2016 election, only 56% of voting-age Americans cast their ballots. [18][19], Federal law doesnt require private employers to give employees paid federal holidays. Here is the relevant passage from Acts 28: Sundays are the most common day for elections, but this is less true in the Anglosphere; Saturdays are used in New Zealand and Australia, and weekdays for the United States, United Kingdom, and Canada. 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. 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. In some of these countries, voting is compulsory, and in most of them, Election Day is a holiday. There's nothing that would stop voters here from treating a Democracy Day like just another day off.". 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. 25, 2016, Chris Talgo, "Make Election Day a National Holiday? 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. This article is about the general term "election day" worldwide. "Election day should be a national holiday" is a claim of policy because we are discussing a policy which searches a solution for the presented argument. 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. 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. Top editors give you the stories you want delivered right to your inbox each weekday. The earliest possible date that Election Day can fall on is November 2nd, and the latest possible date is November 8th. ProCon/Encyclopaedia Britannica, Inc. 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 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. 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. Read more: The evolution of American voting rights in 242 years shows how far we've come and how far we still have to go. 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. For other uses, see. In India, for example, a polling place is required within two kilometers (about a mile) of every single person in the country of 1.4 billion. But this arrangement began to raise concerns as travel and communication improved in the 19th century: Results from states that voted earlier could sway the outcome in states that voted later. So the question of how you label Ireland goes back to which holiday you consider its national day. This page was last edited on 1 February 2023, at 18:43. 0:58. 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. These numbers also may be indicative of higher turnout for major elections, but may not reflect engagement in local or regional elections. 26K views, 1.2K likes, 65 loves, 454 comments, 23 shares, Facebook Watch Videos from Citizen TV Kenya: #FridayNight 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. Others say a holiday would disadvantage low-income and blue collar workers and corporations should have better policies for voting time off. Do you think it's time for the US to follow their lead? South Korea and Israel hold theirs during the week, but have made the day a federal holiday. ", "An overall look at Vietnam's election law", https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Election_day&oldid=1136894393. 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. From 2021, the first Sunday of June. 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. Some countries, about 27 of them, make voting compulsory. 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. [25], According to the AFL-CIO, 30 states require employers to allow employees time off for voting. Presidential elections are held every four years, in years divisible by four, while the elections to the . 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, . 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. [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). 3) Britain and Denmark have no national days. For more on the debate about making election day a national holiday, visit ProCon.org. 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. 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. During the 2016 presidential election, less than 56% of the estimated voting-age population in the US voted. 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. Updates? It is very, very hard to change core American traditions.. ", Others, however, are skeptical that creating a national holiday would increase voter turnout. Other politicians, businesses, and advocacy groups have voiced their approval of celebrating Election Day as a national holiday. 3. Georgia grassroots groups helped Biden win. It is the day when popular ballots are held to select public officials. 1, which adds a new paid holiday for federal employees every other year. "I'm not a fan," said Eddie Perez, an election administration and election technology expert at the Open Source Election Technology (OSET) Institute. 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. 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. The outliers are a tiny minority, and only two countries have no formal national day at all. Will the party listen to them on the issues? The number of early votes cast before Election Day 2020, as of Nov. 1, neared the 100 million mark according to data aggregated by the U.S. Senator Bernie Sanders has certainly tried heintroducedthe "Democracy Day Act" in 2018, which proposed making Election Day a federal holiday. Topics Explainers Politics US Evergreen US Explainers YOU MIGHT LIKE Elections Project, which is close to the complete voter . High turnout means that people are successfully exercising their rights-a good in itselfbut it also ensures the continuing health of majority rule. [ 17] Countries such as France, Mexico, and India also observe federal holidays for elections. While these provisions represent major steps in the right direction, they are not enough. Most of these 19 states' policies only cover general elections, though. 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. 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." The COVID-19 pandemic convinced. [36]. Declaring Election Day a holiday has been proposed various times in Congress; it's a popular idea. [33], Henry Farber, PhD, Hughes-Rogers Professor of Economics at Princeton University, conducted an analysis of states that made Election Day a holiday for state employees. But while experts say such a scheme is unlikely to fly in the US, making it easier for people to vote would appear to be a step in the right direction. Countries that have weekend or holiday elections do tend to have better turnout overall. Explore which countries have weekend voting with Pew Research. Passing voting rights reform will be a crucial component of this response, as would making Election Day a national holiday. 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. A 2018 Pew survey found that the majority of Americans (65%) would be in favor of turning Election Day into a national holiday that includes 71% of Democratic-leaning voters and 59% of Republican-leaning voters. Argentina has instated compulsory voting laws, but only sees about 76% voter turnout. Why or why not? It commemorates the life and work of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., a reverend and civil . Copyright 2023 CBS Interactive Inc. All rights reserved. Election Day is a state holiday in Delaware, Hawaii, Kentucky, Indiana, Maryland, Michigan, New Jersey, Rhode Island, and New York. [17] Countries such as France, Mexico, and India also observe federal holidays for elections. A National Day is a date for a country to celebrate its nationhood. "[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. Last week his office released a list of voting rights provisions he would support. ", "National Electoral Code Article 53 and 148", Report of the 2014 National Lawyers Guild Bolivian Election Observation Delegation, Voting hours for elections in EU Member States, "The Parliamentary Electoral System in Denmark", Consultation Report on Review of Electoral Arrangements, "India Elects 2019: The World's Largest Election, Explained", "Six Nations match at the centre of row over election date - Independent.ie", "With full term possible, Netanyahu may outlast Ben-Gurion (and Obama)", Confessionalism and Electoral Reform in Lebanon, "Voters reminded not to reveal voting intention at Sunday's polling", "Malaysia's election on a Wednesday favors PM, opposition says", "Elections in Mexico and the US: Comparisons and contrasts", "Law on Election of Councillors and Members of Parliament", "Election Days General Elections 1853-2011", "The main features of the Norwegian electoral system", "Tribunal Electoral de Panam convoca a elecciones generales de 2024", "Peru Can Give U.S. Essential reporting and analysis from correspondents around the world. Puerto Rico's voter turnout has gone as high as 80 . ], ProCon.org, "Election Day National Holiday Top 3 Pros and Cons,", ProCon.org, "Election Day National Holiday Top 3 Pros and Cons. February 26, 2023, 5:06 AM. Americans are working all the time. Election Day isn't a national holiday in the US, but some people think it should be. Third Monday of October every four years, or after Parliament is dissolved by the. Tuesday was chosen because it was most convenient for farmers traveling by horse and buggy at the time. 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. 4) The outliers are few but tell you a lot about those . A lot of people go to work, or they're in school during the weekday. Elections to the European Parliament take place over a period of four days (i.e., Thursday through to Sunday), according to the election days of the EU members states (as listed above). 3. 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. 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. They write new content and verify and edit content received from contributors. 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. Should People Who Have Completed Felony Sentences Be Allowed to Vote? An ordinary act of Congress could move Election Day to a Saturday or make it a holiday, thereby giving more people more . 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. Our editors will review what youve submitted and determine whether to revise the article. Omissions? Russia's national holiday only goes back to 1992, when the Russian Federation was founded. Stay up to date with what you want to know. 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. So far this year, hundreds of bills have been introduced that could have the effect of suppressing peoples right to vote. The Evolution of American Voting Rights in 242 Years Shows How Far Weve Come -- and How Far We Still Have to Go, businessinsider.com, Sep. 24, 2019, University of Houston Digital History, "Agriculture, digitalhistory.uh.edu (accessed Sep. 24, 2019), USDA, "Ag and Food Sectors and the Economy, ers.usda.gov, Sep. 20, 2019, Legal Information Institute, "5 U.S. Code 6103. They stated, Citizen Day would do more than give our democracy the honor that it deserves; it would help our democracy work better. 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.However, some countries, or regions within a country, which hold elections on a weekday declare election day a public holiday. In 2018, a Pewstudy found that 65% of Americans favored making Election Day a national holiday. Without this simple step toward turning out as many Americans as possible to vote, any reform will be incomplete. "We should be making it easier for people to vote, not harder. A simple but effective change, however, could be made in election timing. South Africa's is from the first democratic elections, in 1994. Sign up for notifications from Insider! 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. And even a number of the blue countries, such as Australia and Canada, are actually the product of colonialism. Sign up to receive a weekly email update on forthcoming public holidays around the world in your inbox every Sunday. With those options early in-person voting and more voter awareness on how to vote by mail voter turnout appears to be trending upward. However, some countries, or regions within a country, which hold elections on a weekday declare election day a public holiday. Election Day is the day for general elections of public officials in the U.S. At the top of his list: making Election Day a national holiday. Thats not to say no one has tried. Some say a holiday would increase voter turnout by enabling more people to vote while celebrating democracy. But experts say improving voter turnout is a complicated issue that no single silver bullet strategy can solve. Many Americans know that Election Day is a Tuesday, but few know why. For more information on how to vote, head over to our TurboVote module. Think about it. By Monday morning, nearly 60 million had already voted early across the country, closing in on half of 2016's total voter turnout. Sunday: first Sunday of February for the President, Vice-President, and Legislative Assembly; second Sunday of February for municipal elections. Let us make it as easy as we can," Sanders told CBS News. There are many ways to boost voter turnout expanding early voting, automatically registering voters, and improving civic education programs . It's a reminder of turmoil of the last century a very short span in historical terms and how deeply its events influence the world today. Please refer to the appropriate style manual or other sources if you have any questions. 4) The outliers are few but tell you a lot about those countries. Election Day is observed on the first Tuesday after the first Monday in November, taking place on November 7 this year. The Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) is a group that includes 36 countries. 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%. While the majority of US states have voter leave laws that guarantee certain employees a modicum of time off to vote, no federal law currently mandates that employees get time off to cast their ballots. It would give people time to vote. Fourth Sunday of October immediately before the end of the current mandates. Nine states classify general elections as holidays: Florida, Hawaii, Maryland, Montana, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Rhode Island and Virginia. "Election Day should be a national holiday so that everyone has the time and opportunity to vote," Sanders' website reads. 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. 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. 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. 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. After reading the pros and cons on this topic, has your thinking changed? It happens to be on the day the politicians themselves get elected. 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. But in many other countries, the government automatically registers voters and holds elections on days that are weekend days or national holidays. 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. The correct answer is B. Advertisement Advertisement marberman marberman By comparison,. 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. Would making Election Day a federal holiday increase voter turnout and celebrate democracy? Some countries, about 27 of them,make voting compulsory. He says it's more important to spread voting out over a period of days and methods. People literally cannot get to the polling booth because it may close at 7 o'clock and they're working later. Proponents say the Electoral College ensures everyone selects the president. Have you experienced an election day in another country, or do you know how voting works in a place we haven't mentioned here? 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,". Tuesday is Election Day, but only in some parts of the country will voters get the day off to cast their ballots. [10][11]] According to Washington Post columnist Ruth Marcus, Australia adopted compulsory voting in 1924 after turnout there dropped to less than 60 percent in 1922. [31]. In some states where they don't have mail-in ballots, voting can take a lot of time out of the day. 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. Portugal celebrates the 1580 death of celebrated national poet Luis de Camoes, Spain celebrates Columbus Day (yes, the holiday is a little controversial there as well, although not as much as in the U.S.), the Netherlands celebrates the queen's birthday but it still use her mother's birthday for the date and, in Greenland, the celebrate the longest day of the year. All federal elections take place the Tuesday after the first Monday in November. 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. In an interview published Thursday, President Obama endorsed the idea of holding U.S. federal elections on weekends or national holidays. [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. South Korea and Israel hold theirs during the week, but have made the day a federal holiday. 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. In previous elections, that percentage was even higher. We also know that countries that have marked their election days as federal events see higher voting turnouts than the United States. According to Pew Research data, US voter turnout trails most developed countries. The answer dates back to 1845, when Congress passed a law declaring that federal elections would be held on the first Tuesday after the first Monday in November. Others say a holiday would disadvantage low-income and blue collar workers and corporations should have better policies for voting time off. Other countries take heroic efforts to ensure that people can vote if they desire. 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. Exact date set by the. This year, Election . Four more states only provide time off for biennial, even-year elections: Delaware, Louisiana, Michigan and New Hampshire. 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. Election Day is a US State Holiday observed on several states on the first Tuesday after the first Monday in November every even-numbered year.